A Timeline of Hip Hop Homophobia

1982: Grandmaster Flash Releases "The Message"

Among the first hip-hop tracks to go beyond a mere litany of boasting, "The Message" was an examination of poverty and inequality that spoke as much to the head as to the booty. That said, "The Message" was also one of the first examples of homophobia in hip-hop. First, there's the mention of a homeless woman who "used to be a fag-hag." Another verse references a "stickup kid sent up for an eight-year bid;" once in prison, "your manhood is took and you're a maytag, spend[ing] the next two years as a undercover fag."