There has never been a lack of debate about Eminem’s sexuality over the years. Maybe this song will help you ease your minds–or maybe it won’t.
Joyner Lucas’ latest track “What If I Was Gay” comes from his indefinitely delayed second studio album ‘ADHD.’ The album was announced in late 2018 and has not been released as of now. The official release date for “What If I Was Gay” is set to be November 22, 2019, however a snippet of the song leaked online on October 29, 2019. The full song leaked on November 1, 2019, an entire month ahead of the release date.
Joyner Lucas and Eminem previously collaborated on Eminem’s hit “Lucky You” from his 2018 album ‘Kamikaze.’ However, the new track seems to have both the artists confronting their homosexual feelings.
Check out the full leaked song on HipHop’n’More
On the first and second verses of “What If I Was Gay,” Joyner Lucas sings about his ‘difference’ from the rest of the world. His missing part, his sickness, the reason for everyone’s frown upon him, and the reason he is an outcast from society is that he is gay?
Joyner also explains that it is no joyride being a closeted gay. He has conflicted thoughts. He wants society to accept him, and he wants to be with people. But people have a weird way of judging people based on their sexual orientation. But just because society wants him to bend to its framework, doesn’t make him any less gay. No matter how much everyone around him wants him to be somebody else, he just cannot. It won’t be Joyner Lucas if he changes to everyone’s whims.
Joyner Lucas also makes it very clear that this confession is not a plea for help. In fact, “What If I Was Gay,” is a song for the listeners to open their eyes and try to get in his shoes at least for the duration of the song. If his voice doesn’t help the listeners, he has Eminem on the mic for the third verse to tell his confessional.
Eminem jumps on the gun by confessing that he might be gay and what if?
Notably, Eminem has had a few ins and outs being called homophobic and homosexual at the same time over the years. In 2007, with an interview with Vulture, Eminem opened up about being called anti-gay for the lyrics of “My Name Is;” “The first time I got a taste of being called anti-gay was on ‘My Name Is’ when I said, ‘My English teacher wanted to have sex in junior high / The only problem was my English teacher was a guy.’ All I was saying was I don’t swing that way. So when I started getting flack for it, I thought, Alright, you people think I’m homophobic… I was trying to push the buttons of people who were calling me something that I wasn’t. The honest-to-God truth is that none of that matters to me: I have no issue with someone’s sexuality, religion, race, none of that.“
On the track “Fall,” from Eminem’s ‘Kamikaze’ calls out Tyler, The Creator with a homophobic slur, and Eminem spoke in an interview, later on, to admit that it might have been going too far.
In the movie ‘The Interview,’ the actor James Franco interviews Eminem about his life. Here Eminem slips out that he is gay and the movie loses it. But this is, of course, a scripted drama meant to be a comedy. Watch the scene below.
In Eminem’s verse on “What If I Was Gay,” he states that ‘being gay’ is not anyone’s fault, not even the person who is gay. It is merely the way your hormones are plugged in. However, it is also notable that Eminem calls it “repulsive” at the start.
Later on, Eminem narrates a story of a friend he grew up with, a normal kid with whom he talked about girls and whatnot. Later, the friend came out of the closet and Em feels like its a blow to their friendship. Eminem brings in religion, which has been a major source of oppression towards homosexuals in the modern world. According to Christian views, homosexuality is a sin and a violation of a direct order given by God himself. So, Eminem mockingly says that maybe he should pray for forgiveness for his friend who has disobeyed God himself.
Towards the mid of the third verse, we see a change of thematics of Eminem’s lyrics. He starts off by saying he is getting mixed feelings like Logic-the rapper. Logic has been vocal about his mixed race in many of his tracks, however, Em is talking about his mixed feelings about sexual orientation. Eminem gets aggravated as his feelings towards homosexuality grow. He calls himself weak for not being able to control his biological urges. But he knows that he will only be able to resist so far.
Later on in the verse, we find out that Eminem’s homosexual friend has committed suicide. EduBirdie states that homosexual teens are 3 times more likely to commit suicide than heterosexual teens, and of all the suicide attempts made by teens, homosexual teens were up by 5 times than heterosexual teens. And it is not even their fault that they contemplate suicide. It’s the society that pushes them there.
Towards the latter part of Em’s verse on “What If I Was Gay,” he breaks down about the loss of his friend. Em says he was going to reveal to his friend that he was fighting his inner demons on being gay. Only if Em had confessed his feelings with his friend a day early! Em admits that he was a hypocrite for the way he treated his gay friend. Why? Because Em is closeted gay too.
Despite the question, if Eminem is truly gay or not, this song is surely an eye-opener for the whole society of what homosexuals endure on a daily basis.
Let us hear what you think about this song in the comments below and share this article with your friends to spread awareness. Read the complete lyrics below.