CAUSHUN
- Caushun is an openly gay rapper living in Bed-Stuy Brooklyn.
- He calls himself ''the weave king,'' an extensions specialist. He's done
hairdos for J-Lo and Sarah Michelle Gellar, and he's the stereotype of the
celebrity hairdresser. He's a b-boy with a poodle named Wesley and an apartment
with ornate pillows with silk flowers on them and beautiful vases filled with
giant lilies. Caushun is a 25-year-old openly gay rapper from the same neighborhood
as Biggie Smalls, with flippy wrists, a gay twang and a flow that is liquid
and cool and ready for the big time. He wants to be hip-hop's homosexual Jackie
Robinson.
- Hip-hop is now as large a cultural stage as baseball was in the 50's, yet
the mainstream is just as closed to gay rappers as the major leagues were
to black men before Robinson. And, as with Robinson, for Caushun to break
through could have a profound impact on how gay people are perceived throughout
America.
- ''He's going to open up discussion about one of the last acceptable prejudices,''
said his manager, Ivan Matias. ''With homosexuals having so much influence
over hip-hop from behind the scenes, it's time that they had a voice.'' He
was referring to the gay executives, managers, stylists and magazine editors
in the music business.
- Caushun said simply: ''Look, I'm keepin' it real. Don't let me find out
that I'm keepin' it too real for hip-hop. Should that be the name of my album?
'Too Real for Hip-Hop'?''
- Caushun recently signed with Baby Phat Records, and his debut album, ''Shock
and Awe,'' will come out at the end of June before Gay Pride Day. His self-confidence
is so strong that he doesn't believe his being gay will keep him from selling
a million records and having a video played on MTV 20 times a week -- in other
words, from becoming a star.
- ''Rap music is one of the most homophobic musics we know,'' said hip-hop
legend Russell Simmons. ''But he's dope and he's unique because of his perspective
on the world. I can't imagine that people aren't going to buy it. You think
women and gay men won't buy it? It's a huge possibility.''
- Caushun says that some labels wanted to turn him into a house music artist
or make him "the RuPaul of hip-hop". But he insisted upon staying
mainstream. He learned to rap and rhyme growing up and says that his music
is no different from that of any other mainstream hip hop artist. He just
may throw some gay references in.
- Asked whether or not the hip-hop nation is ready for a gay M.C., Tim'm
West said: ''The question is irrelevant. The openly gay M.C. is here. Will
you or will you not respond to it? If you don't, I'm still going to keep making
rhymes. I'm not interested in whether or not America is ready for me. I'm
here.''
Source: THE NEW YORK TIMES