According to Scott Gold of the Los Angeles Times, struggling hip-hop artist Adair Lion had run through the money his grandmother had lent him (a big chunk of her savings) to help establish his career (making pro-grade videos, recording costs and traveling to gigs for exposure don't come cheap these days), and yet his career had failed to take off. He was tired and ready to pack it in.
But then some of his songs started to gain traction, especially "Ben" his "Gay is OK" song calling for acceptance of gays in which he raps:
The Bible was wrong this time...Gay is OK--the No.1 thing a rapper shouldn't say. I said it anyway
And instead of committing career suicide with his pro-gay song, as some of his friends had warned him, he reinvigorated it, says Gold.
Then "Ben" helped put him on the radar — what would have been career suicide not long ago effectively saved his career.
This just shows how rapidly the rap, hip-hop world is changing in its attitude toward gays. Gold quotes rapper Murs who credits President Obama's announcing his support of same-sex marriage and the subsequent enthusiastic support of rapper Jay-Z as a one-two punch helping transform attitudes.
And then, of course, there's Frank Ocean's recent (and very successful) release of his new album, "Channel Orange" in which he sings about his love for another man, and the subsequent outpouring of support from a number of prominent hip-hop artists, including Jay-Z.
It's beginning to look like pro-gay rap songs are a smart business move these days.
As they say, the times they are a changing--and fast.
"Ben"