The Washington Blade reports on a potentially very ugly turn of events for rising homegrown rap star Wale. It seems the musician was originally slated to perform at this year’s DC Black Pride festival, part of the annual Capital Pride events, but has since pulled out, claiming that he “didn’t know Black Pride was a gay-related event when he agreed to appear.”
Wale’s departure from the line-up has already provoked a strong backlash from local black LGBT community leaders, many of whom are choosing not to mince words. Wale, they say, is a homophobe.
Jeffrey Richardson, president of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club and one of the local black LGBT leaders scheduled to be honored at this year’s Black Pride events, called Wale’s cancellation a sign that the LGBT community still has a long way to go to overcome prejudice.
“This is pure homophobia on his part,” Richardson said. “This reflects the feelings of the broader community. For a lot of folks, the biggest fear is of being labeled as gay. It’s a stigma we still have a lot of work to do to overcome.”
This is really a sad piece of news for both the local LGBT community and the local music scene. Wale, 25, has largely been credited with putting D.C.’s hip-hop community back on the map over the last several years, and has been held up as an example to struggling local rappers that this city, long believed not to have as many talented hip-hop musicians as places like New York, Chicago or Atlanta, can also produce stars.
To have someone like Wale, a role model for young people in D.C., come right out and say that he doesn’t want to be associated with an LGBT event only serves to further the perception that bigotry toward gays is alive and well in large parts of the black community, even among millennials.
Leaders from both communities should continue to condemn Wale’s decision. Perhaps if he’s publicly shamed enough for his apparently homophobic views, a more tolerant dialogue could eventually emerge.