Kodak's Corner

Though there has been significant progress made with the representation of queer artists in the music industry, there’s still much more work to be done. 

From a lack of representation to being restricted in their creativity, queer artists have always received the short end of the stick. The most interesting part: queer artists are generally trendsetters and the ones to onset different trends seen in the music and fashion industries. 

Regardless, their self-expression and talent continue to be overlooked and underappreciated. Rapper Lil Nas X is a prime example of this. Despite having multiple songs hit the Billboard Top 10, the rapper wasn’t even nominated for a BET Award this year. To add insult to injury, rapper Jack Harlow, a feature on LNX’s song “Industry Baby,” was nominated for an award. 

LNX decided that silence wasn’t an appropriate response to what he calls “homophobia in the black community.” 

He took to Twitter to voice his frustrations, stating that it’s “crazy” for him to not have had a nomination from his “own people” despite being recognized by the Grammys, one of the highest honors as a musical artist. 

What creates more confusion is the fact that the BET Awards had LNX as a performer in 2019 and 2021 as well as him being awarded Best New Artist in 2020. 

Following LNX’s response to the lack of nomination, the BET Awards released a statement expressing their love for the rapper by detailing the times that he was acknowledged by the award show in the past. 

“We love Lil Nas X. He was nominated for a Best New Artist BET Award in 2020, and we proudly showcased his extraordinary talent and creativity on the show twice: he performed ‘Old Town Road’ with Billy Ray Cyrus at ‘BET Awards’ 2019 and his ‘BET Awards’ 2021 performance was a highlight of our show. No one cheered louder that night than BET,” said BET in the statement. 

This doesn’t remove the doubt that there was homophobia behind the lack of a nomination. LNX’s “Industry Baby” hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 during the time frame of eligibility to be nominated. Why did he not get a nomination but someone featured on his song (that isn’t even Black) did?

BET denied allegations of being homophobic by saying how they’re “passionate advocates of the wonderful diversity that exists within our community” they said in the statement. 

If this is happening to a Grammy award winner, imagine the mistreatment experienced by less established queer artists. LNX choosing to speak up represented not just him, but all queer artists who aren’t may feel overlooked and underrepresented.