Published 18:11, July the 8th, 2009
No mo’ ‘no homo’
Over the past few years, there has been a disturbing trend in hip-hop culture that has spilled into everyday urban life: use of the phrase “no homo.” Essentially, a man will say “no homo” to ensure that no one mistakes their remarks as homosexual in nature. Still confused? Here are a few examples: I once appeared on New York’s Hot 97 radio station with members of the Dip Set rap crew. One of the members, Freeky Zekey, was talking about an upcoming album and said, “I couldn’t have gotten it done if Cam’ron hadn’t really gotten behind me. No homo!” More recently, my brother and I were playing basketball with some young men in our neighborhood, one of whom demanded we pass him the ball on every possession. Each time we had the ball, he would scream “Feed me! No homo... Give it to me! No homo. I want it! No homo.” Last week, I stumbled into a local bar during karaoke night. One of the men decided to sing something new. He grabbed the mic and said, “Tonight, I want to try something different. No homo!” There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t hear someone utter this ridiculous phrase.
In some ways, “no homo” is part of a long tradition of ghetto language games that evince the quick-wit and linguistic sophistication of black and brown people. Once I figured out what karaoke brother was talking about, I laughed uncontrollably at the childish absurdity of his decision to clarify that he wasn’t planning a gay rendezvous. Still, despite its intellectual and comedic richness, the no-homo fad spotlights our troubling relationship with gay identities.
By punctuating even the most sexually non-suggestive sentences with a homophobic disclaimer, we reinforce the idea that gay and lesbian people are worthy of ridicule and surveillance. This notion is particularly troubling within hip-hop culture, which is sustained by the creative work of gay stylists, writers, choreographers and, yes, rappers. The use of “no homo” also reveals a deep homoerotic impulse within our culture. After all, how can you constantly say “no homo” without constantly thinking about gay sex? Perhaps instead of finding new ways of deriding gay and lesbian people, we could devote that same energy to figuring out why we’re obsessed with them. The answer may be deeper than we think.