Because when Wale — who you’d know from the single “Dig Dug (Shake It)” — heard he was requested to perform May 30 at Washington D.C.’s Capital Black Pride, he didn’t realize it was a, uh, gay event. So initially he said yes, then regretted it, and pulled out. Says Black Pride spokesman Earl Fowlkes: Bull, he knew what he was signing up for.
Though his “It’s gay?!?” excuse came after his agent this week sent organizers an email that he had to pull out because of “family obligations.” At least Mya has a slightly better reason for dropping out: she just had foot surgery, and she has a note from her doctor. (Organizers replaced Wale with J. Holiday, and Mya with Inaya Day.)
GQ, on the cover of last June’s issue, named Wale the “best rapper since Jay-Z.” And best humanitarian since Elton John!
TiredOldQueen@Queerty
How old is he? Is he 60?
jj
ummm im gonna say cause he thought it was about black people showing their “pride” oh and cause hes a homophobe
SouLKid
Urmmm, what does Queerty care!?
oh i know…..!
romeo
Looks like he needs more fiber in his diet — lots more!
ewe
Just another charlatan with a suburban past and a religious hangup disguised as a big bad city rapper. What a joke. I could care less about what some 25 year old ignorant dimwit thinks of gay pride.
Mike
Why Did Rapper Wale Pull Out of D.C. Black Pride Gig?
That answer is obvious. So it wouldn’t get pregnant. duh
Mike
Why Did Rapper Wale Pull Out of D.C. Black Pride Gig?
The answer is obvious. So it wouldn’t get pregnant. duh
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
Why is there even a “Black Pride”?? Seems kind of exclusionary to me………when I go to a Pride event I kinda like seeing all the flavors of Gay included, Black, White, Asian, Eskimo, whatever………..If a group was to attempt to organize a “White Pride” event, you can be damm sure lots of people would rightfully have their panties all bunched up real tight……..Why are the organizers of this given a pass????
Blazing Sun
To: PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
From: Blazin Sun
Can’t you come up with something a little more original than that? I love a celebration of all that’s Aryan. But, I suggest that you try and stretch the few brain cells that you have to create a more entertaining comment in the future. Right now, you bore me. Also, I’m sure the others would not mind if you attended their pride. The only one excluding you from those events is yourself.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
@Blazing Sun: Maybe you have been out in the “Blazing Sun” a bit too long…..If you had bothered reading and understandng my post you would see that I am 100% in favor of all inclusive pride fests. I enjoy seeing all flavors of the Gays. However when one festoons their baloons with a specific tag such as “Black Pride” as opposed to “Gay Pride” it really doesn’t seem like the invite is open to all………….
tjr101
@PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS:
You’re missing the point. The term “Black Pride” has nothing to do with being exclusionary to whites or any other group as it’s more a show of pride of black gays towards the greater heterosexual black/heterosexual community in general. It’s also a show of “we are here too” more than anything else.
Many people in our society are ignorant of the fact that there is a significant and thriving black lgbt community.
jeffree
The more Pride fests the better!
I’m still waiting for the Ethnicity Unknown Pride fest 😀 cuz I’m adopted but probably part Native Alaskan based on my eyes!
A simple search of the Googles would have let Rapper Wale be aware of what he was signing up for with Black Pride. That would have taken about three seconds.
I wonder if he would still agree now to be at the PFOX pride fest if there is one? You know, the ex gays!
MickW
Jeffree,
I doubt that he was the one who agreed to do the event, that is why artist hire a management team.
jeffree
@MickW: Agreed! Whoever manages him failed to check out the gig. That means that the person in charge of booking his appearances didn’t spend 20 seconds on google before giving the thumbs up on the performance at —-drum roll— a gay event.
That also means Wale needs better management, representation, & ++UH OH++ now looks like a raving homophobe!
=Total loss for the beached Wale. He agreed 2 perform @ a Black gay pride event (thus is suspect 2 the Rap Community) & the Gayz see he is a homophobe……
Bye bye Wale’s career!
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
@tjr101: I kinda sorta agree with you. Yet one of the things that makes a pride fest so enjoyable is seeing all the flavors of the Gays showing their own particular style of pride………A pride fest with only one flavor would seem pretty boring………….
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
@jeffree: Co-sign, talk ’bout a lose-lose situation……………(And BTW, what the fcuk are you doing on Queert St. at 3:24am?? :-p)
MickW
I don’t think this means his career will be over, if his cancellation is not due to homophobia, most black gays are open minded and give people the benefit of the doubt before they make up their minds….and I don’t think the straight hip hop community will even hear about it.
CONVERSATION CHAMBER
@PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS:
There’s a “Black pride” event because quite often it’s general pride that tends to be exclusionary, even if subtley. Imagine being one of about 50 people of color at a parade of thousands. Wouldn’t you feel a bit…out of place? And black gay men who don’t come in an ensemble of white friends tend to get snubbed at these sort of things. The whole point of these things is to fellowship with other people like you, and to for one day not feel like you’re abundantly different from everyone else around you.
That’s why there’s a black pride.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
@CONVERSATION CHAMBER: I have been to pride events in probably ten different locations. The only place where I could say I hardly saw any Blacks was in Europe. In anywhere I have been in the US I saw all colors of Gay. I don’t think I only view the world thru rose colored glasses. If you feel excluded by a pride event that truly sucks, because you say “The whole point of these things is to fellowship with other people like you, and to for one day not feel like you’re abundantly different from everyone else around you” That is the whole point of a pride event. We’re all Gay and that should transend any other factor……………
puck
@PLAYSWELLWITHOTHERS
The same argument could be made for – “why is there a Gay Pride event”? Why not just a Human Pride Event? Well, part of the reason why is because there is a unique way in which queer people are marginalized and rendered invisible and dehumanized by the dominant, heterosexist society. And there are unique ways in which queer people are beautiful and honest and real and supportive compared to dominant culture. And Gay Pride is fucking awesome – both as an event and as a concept, regardless of the “fun party” aspect.
Well, if you can grasp why that is, then it’s not such a big leap to understand why it’s important, critical, revolutionary, beautiful, exciting and *fun* to have events dedicated to lifting up and celebrating the experiences of people who are gay and black…
And being gay doesn’t “transcend” all other aspects of someone’s identity… White people are members of the empowered class and part of the consciousness that goes along with that is this belief that our (white) experiences are universal. They’re not. And suggesting that someone’s blackness is “transcended” by their gayness renders their blackness (and all the beauty and struggle of that experience) invisible and asks that someone to make a choice between being Black and being Gay. And that’s not fair – or even okay.
On top of that, as has been stated, just because a space is opened up to celebrate queer black people, it doesn’t mean that anyone else isn’t welcome… So, go to Black Pride. Have a ball. Make some friends. And listen a bit… you may even learn some incredible things about yourself along the way.
Here’s some neat reading if you want to understand more about the ways in which queer people of color are silenced within and without our community…
http://stuffwhitepeopledo.blogspot.com/2010/02/perpetuate-idea-that-gay-or-lesbian_25.html
Sorry for the long ramble, but this one kinda struck a chord – if for no other reason than I’ve been right where you are, PLAYSWELL…
Hilarious
@PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS: It wouldn’t be as easy to carry that opinion had you been one of the people snubbed and largely ignored at these events.
I went once, never felt so invisible in my life, and decided never to do it again.
jeffree
I’ve attended Pride events in 9 cities & 3 countries. As a person who is of unknown ethnicity–definately biracial, possibly multi :-} —due to being adopted—, I never felt unwelcome @ any event: Asian Pride, Deaf Pride, Black Pride, Hispanic Pride, etc. My slogan is that I dont really fit in anywhere so i can fit in anywhere !!
Well okay, I cant pass as a member of Dykes on Bikes, but hey I got to ride on the back of a motorcycle for the **FIRST TIME EVER** (thankx Heather !!)
If based on the recent Queerty post that Rapper Wale didn’t know he was booked for or cancelled his Black Pride appearance then yep he needs a better manager or needs to google himself a little more often!
Yet Another
@puck:
Dam, well said.
Diva
The reason why there’s Gay Black Pride because many black gays and lesbians don’t feel inclusive in the mostly white gay community. Racism do exist in the mostly white gay community and many white gay men think they are the most attractive on earth and many white gay men don’t find black gay men attractive. You have to be dam near white to get the attention of white gay men. If you a fair skin or white Hispanic with straight hair and caucasian features, you will fit in with white gays and you can assimilate. Black gay men cannot do this. Many times, I have said hello to attractive white gay males in D.C. in the Safeway or on the streets of Adams Morgan and Shaw neighborhoods. Guess what, they don’t speak do me and act as if I’m invisible. People must remember, white gay men or no different from white heterosexual gay men in their thinking, whites are superior to blacks.
Daddy Grace Fish Sandwich
On most of the gay magazines, you will find mostly young muscular preppy white men. I use to have an account on the gay site Adam4Adam. I saw many white gays in D.C. advertising for All American men. These are code words use for asking for white men only. I challenged one guy by saying, my ancestors fought in World Wars 1, 2, Vietnam, and the current wars in Iraq and shouldn’t this make me as a black U.S. citizen all American? Of course, I didn’t get a response. I guess black men gay or straight will never be viewed as an All American guy in America. You must be white to be given this title. Many white Hispanic men whether they be Cuban, Puerto Rican, Argentinean, Spaniard, Venezuelan, Chilean, or Brazilian can assimilate into white society and date masculine attractive white gay men.
Getting old, being black, and gay can get depressing at times. As a gay black man approaching 50 and not living as a openly gay man, I can remember the first gay Black Prides back in the early 90’s. Black and Puerto Rican men would travel to D.C. from all over the United States by the thousands. On Memorial Day weekend in Washington, D.C., you would see gay black men every where you traveled in the District. There were many places black gay men could hang out and socialize like the Court House downtown, TRACKS, the Edge, the book stores near North Capital Street, S.E., the Circle Bar, Knobs Hill, Bachelor’s Mill, and the Delta Elite. Today in 2010, many of these establishments no longer exist. You see, the gay community is D.C. is very segregated and with gentrification taking place in Washington with more affluent white gays moving into the District in large numbers, black gays seem to be disappearing. The Black Gay prides within the last several years has become small with less gay black men coming to D.C. for this event. As I sit back and reflect on the early 90’s, I use to have so much fun back during those times. Many of the men I once knew are dead from AIDS, gotten older, or have moved away from Washington. On Labor Day Monday, there was always a big picnic in Rock Creek Park for black gay men, but this too has disappeared.
As I sit here in my home listening to WHUR on this Tuesday morning, tears are flowing down my face remembering the good old times I shared with other attractive masculine gay black men that were openly gay or on the down low. At the age of 49 being black and gay, I no longer feel welcome in my native Washington because many of the white gay men have or is taking over and most are racist towards black gay men and many don’t find us attractive.
In closing, getting old is very depressing for many gay black men like myself. In this life style, the focus is on looks, tight gym bodies, and being young without a care in the world. I look forward to my death because I no longer with have to deal with the loneliness and being alone. RIP Melvin Lindsey.
Diva
Correction to my previous comment:
People must remember, white gay men are no different from white heterosexual gay men in their thinking; whites are superior to blacks. Just because a person is gay and white, this doesn’t make them not have stero types of blacks as being “savages”, thugs, uneducated, and unattractive. I am sure there were many white slave owners that were gay or bisexual and had sex with their black slave men back in those times.
Jesse Helms
This is one ugly Rapper. Are all black Rappers ugly and dark skinned with nappy hair?
Jesse Helms
I see there’s a white gay pride in Washington, D.C. this weekend? Why do the gay races have separate gay festivals? I thought the gays were supposed to be tolerate and inclusive of others. I guess I was wrong.
Jesse Helms
@James: Is this your little brother featured in this gay article.