In a recent interview, Miami-bred rapper and record executive Rick Ross sat down with talk show host Funky Dineva and discussed his high school days, HBCUs, his success as a business man, and even shared his thoughts on openly gay rapper Saucy Santana and Hip Hop embracing the LGBTQ+ community.
Funky Dineva asked, "What is your take on gay rappers like Santana coming into the game?"
"I'm not familiar with the name Santana but live your life, chase your dreams, and go hard man. Go hard!"
Funky Dineva quickly followed up asking, "Do you think Hip Hop will ever embrace the LGBT community fully?"
"I believe Hip Hop has already embraced it. Without a doubt, yeah."
This isn't the first time Ross gave his opinion on gay rappers in Hip Hop. In a 2014 HuffPost Live interview, Ross was asked by Marc Lamont Hill if rap music was ready for an openly gay act.
"So we got gay football players coming out, we got singers like Frank Ocean coming out, is Hip Hop ready for that?"
"I feel your personal life is your personal life...you do whatever you do. That's yo business, you know what I mean, I stay out of all the other stuff.
Ross continued, "You can't tell nobody which direction to take their art. That's the beauty of being creative in this thing we call art in this culture of ours. And imma represent what I do and my lifestyle, I feel everybody else should have that same right."
It's great to see rap legends confirming that there is room for LGBT artists to thrive in Hip Hop. The culture still has a long way to go to rid its homophobic past, but one step towards inclusivity will one day add up and pay off.