Rap Anti-Gay? Try Oh-So-Gay, Claims Exposé

Many rappers tout anti-gay attitude, but some are secretly gay too—or so claims a former MTV exec in his upcoming memoir. “The book is not about outing people,” said Terrence Dean, author of Hiding in Hip Hop. “I wrote it so that people realize the industry has a gay subculture and we are part of this music.” His exposé uses code names to keep artists’ double-lives hidden—unless readers can read between the lines.

Some rappers are understandably nervous about the book's publication next week. “Within the next year I believe a major artist will come out,” Dean said. “They are going to have to be brave but I think they can do it.” He also hopes hip-hop can return to its dance-party roots and abandon its obsession with violence, gangs, and Eminem's infamous lyric, "Hate fags? The answer's yes." (More hip-hop stories.)