On The View yesterday morning, hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Raven Symone, and Rosie Perez slammed comments made by former hip hop star Eric Sermon. Sermon, of the pioneering hip hop group EPMD, made remarks earlier this week to TMZ that struck many as transphobic and dated. When asked if hip hop was ready for a transgender artist, he bluntly replied “No,” and elaborated, saying “the way the world is going, you never know, because there are some rappers who are close to that… [but] they taking the culture too far, you have to be what hip hop represents.” He refused to name any names of rappers he was referring to.
On The View, these statements became a hotly contested part on the show. Raven Symone began with questioning what the very basis of hip hop culture was, stating that hip hop was about freedom of speech and that queer and transgender artists have always been in the background, creating and shaping the culture as we know it today. Rosie Perez, always outspoken (and we seriously love her for it), went where Sermon didn’t and name dropped some rising artists who are part of the LGBT community and gaining serious credibility in the game.
Rosie went to list artists like Le1f, who last year performed on the Late Show with David Letterman, Brooklyn based rapper Cakes Da Killa (who freestyled live on Hot 97) and transgender DJ and art star Juliana Huxtable. Rosie’s fellow co-hosts were baffled and lost as to who these individuals are, but if you’ve ever spent some time in NYC’s Downtown and Brooklyn scenes, or just have access to the internet, they’ve only been a click away. She concluded with a poignant message to Sermon, saying “the hip hop world will be ready; Eric, please come on board.”
Can the hip-hop culture handle transgender? Hip-hop legend Eric Sherman says no, but Raven-Symoné disagrees.”It’s supposed to be fashion. It’s supposed to be freedom of speech. It’s supposed to be entertainment,” she said.
Posted by The View on Thursday, April 30, 2015