Rapper�s Delight

Queer hip hop hits Columbus

by Anthony Glassman

With almost every genre of entertainment there now is a queer subgenre.

There are gay romantic comedies, dramas, even horror and science fiction films. There are gay musicals on Broadway and off, and queer literature has been around in one form or another for millennia.

With music, each type of music has its own substrata of out, queer performers pushing the boundaries of their style.

In punk rock, for example, the homocore or queercore movement started in the 1980s and still is going today.

Hip-hop, however, seemed to take a little longer to get out the big gay gate. While much of punk rock was political, or at the least anti-establishment, hip-hop is as much about partying as it is about protest. For every Public Enemy fighting the power, there are a dozen Naughty By Natures trying to get some OPP.

That all began to change by the dawn of the new millennium, however. Groups like Deep Dickollective, God-Des and She, Team Gina and individuals like Tori Fixx, Katastrophe, Deadlee and other picked up the mantle of homo-hop, organizing festivals like the PeaceOut World Homo Hop Festival.

Now, the HomoRevolution tour is traveling across the country, filling in the gaps that the coastal PeaceOut might miss. Rapper Bigg Nugg, a native of Fremont, Ohio, and co-organizer of the tour, is excited about its only Ohio stop currently scheduled, in Columbus on October 4.

�Columbus� date will actually be a Bigg Nugg headlining show, due to artists having to withdraw from the tour,� he said. �So it will be Unecc (pronounced Unique), DaLyrical, and myself.�

Nugg was effusive in his praise of the women with whom he will perform.

�Unecc has a great stage presence and her flows are off the chain. She is actually a Columbus native, so I�m sure her home town will bring the love!� he noted.

�DaLyrical comes to us from Atlanta, but she too also lived in Columbus at one point in her career,� he continued. �She has so much charisma on stage with her delivery that it is amazing to watch. And her tracks and her knowledge definitely need to be heard.�

The rapper has been playing in bands for 12 years, but picked up the mike and became an MC as Bigg Nugg three years ago. He says that Fremont, despite being a small town, is big on hip-hop.

�Fremont�s culture is pretty hip-hop driven. It�s a little city with big city problems, as I like to say,� he noted. �So I think the people there relate to it more. There are also some tight hip-hop artists there as well. I have one cousin that flows, and another that produces tight beats.�

Nugg signed with Milo Management in Los Angeles last year, putting him in a family with Deadlee, Delacruz, Salvimez, Tori Fixx and Shorty Roc, and it was through that family that the tour was created.

Although Columbus� show is currently the only Ohio date, organizers are looking to bring it back through the state in 2008, possibly paired with the documentary film Pick Up the Mic by Alex Hinton. The film is where the tour got its name.

The homo hop scene is growing, and will continue to do so, he believes.

�We are not quite there yet, but we are growing,� he said, noting that it stretches beyond the country�s borders. �It�s international as well, with great artists like Qboy, Mz. Fontaine and Gay Fight Club. This gay hip-hop scene has a very underground, punk feeling about it. It�s very indie, and the community is very tight.�

�And our followers are the most loyal fans,� he said. �We are only going to grow and grow until we are in every Best Buy around the world!�

That growth is the most notable change he has seen since he started following homo hop.

�The scene has seen dozens of new gay hip-hop artists lately, which is dope,� he opined. �I am glad more people know they can stand up and really take a hold of this conscious movement.�

�The main thing I notice is all of the artists� ability to do more shows, and to take their live shows nationally and internationally,� he continued. �Artists on the HomoRevolution Tour, as well as Katastrophe who is doing a ton of dates this year, need to be commended for spreading the love.�

The HomoRevolution Tour hits Jacks Bar, 2210 Summit Street in Columbus on Thursday, October 4. Doors open at 10:30 pm, the show is at 11 pm. Tickets are $5, and available now at www.gaymusicusa.com. More information about the show is available at www.homorevolution.com, and Bigg Nugg can be found online at www.myspace.com/biggnugg.