BEN (song)

Last updated
"BEN"
BEN Better Everything Now.jpg
Single by Adair Lion
from the album Michael & Me
ReleasedMay 1, 2012 (2012-05-01)
Genre Hip hop
Length3:49
Label Above the Notes
Songwriter(s) Adair Lion
Producer(s) Adair Lion
Adair Lion singles chronology
"Mr. Blue Sky"
(2012)		"BEN"
(2012)

"BEN" ("Better Everything Now") is a hip hop song written by rapper, producer, and director Adair Lion (Adair Fragoso), a native of El Paso, Texas. [1] [2] The song samples Michael Jackson's 1972 song of the same name and gives a pro-LGBT message. [3] [4] One report described it as a message to the rap world, and a stance against gay discrimination. [5] Towleroad called it a "beautifully-spun message about doing away with homophobia in hip-hop and Christianity, and accepting gay parents". [6] Originally titled "It Gets Benner" in homage to the It Gets Better Project, Lion decided to use "Ben" with the name also serving as an acronym for "Better Everything Now". [7]

Contents

The single was intended to be part of Lion's 2012 tribute album Michael & Me, which was to be released on June 25, 2012, the anniversary of the death of Michael Jackson. [1] Lion's intention was to bring focus to how homophobic expressions, common in the hip-hop community, are part of a larger problem, and that leading voices of hip hop should not turn their backs on their LGBT friends and family. [7] [8] One of the often quoted lyrics is "'Gay is OK' may be the No. 1 thing a rapper shouldn't say." [9]

Equality Texas named Lion an Ally Award winner, recognizing people and businesses that advanced "equality for all Texans", as well as 'Miss West Texas' Kaylee Anne Keith, his former fiancée, who took her platform of "bullying awareness and prevention" to schools across the state. [10]

The popular culture reaction to "BEN" has been surprisingly supportive in the traditionally and notoriously homophobic hip-hop music industry, which, for example, uses "no homo" in lyrics. [11] "BEN" went viral, racking up "tens of thousands of hits" on YouTube, and Lion's songs have increased exposure on "taste-making radio stations and websites". [11] Lion is also doing more live shows including gay pride festivals in Memphis (Mid-South Pride) and his hometown of El Paso. [11]

Conception and recording

Lion, who earned a degree from the University of Texas at Austin in Music with an Emphasis on Vocal Performance and Concentration in Sound Engineering, conceived and wrote the song while researching music for his upcoming full length Michael Jackson tribute album. [7] He found an a cappella version of Jackson's "Ben" and centered that as the main hook, sped up the sample and made a hip-hop beat around the vocals. [7] Ben "wouldn't be shunned" if everyone else knew him, as Jackson puts it, "like I do". [2] Lion noted that in hip hop it is standard to bash gays and that on every rap album he has heard the singers call each other faggot "as the first attack point". [12]

While Lion was in college, a friend of his came out, and it was confusing to him how to react to the news. [7] The issue started to conceptualize how the Ben that Michael Jackson sings of could be seen as LGBT people being the best friends of the hip-hop community. [7] In the movie, and song, Ben is the best friend and the metaphor is touched again when Lion raps "(and) to all the little dudes learning to mack, the hottest chicks got a gay in their clique, remember that." [13] [14] Lion thought of his gay friend and was inspired by the It Gets Better campaign, an Internet-based project founded September 2010 by columnist Dan Savage and his husband Terry Miller [15] [16] in response to an increase of suicide among LGBT youth who were bullied because they were gay or because their peers suspected that they were gay. [17] [18] The goal is to prevent suicide among LGBT youth by having LGBT adults convey the message that the teens' lives will improve. [19] Lion sees "Ben" as a way to being a rap version for the It Gets Better effort. [7]

Composition

Lion has stated, "After choosing the lyrics that most moved me I sped up the sample and made a hip-hop beat around the vocals. I loosely used the kick pattern and song layout of "All Falls Down" by Kanye West." [7] Lion is believed to be the first rapper to quote LGBT activist Harvey Milk, from his "Hope Speech", "I'm Harvey Milk and I'm here to recruit you" to read "Hello, my name is Adair and I'm here to recruit you". [7] [20] The phrase was a play by Milk on the accusation that gay people recruit impressionable youth into their numbers.

The song has a theological message with Lion rhyming "Being Christian, it's hard to say this, the Bible was wrong this time; It's in every species and every family I've met, so I don't see why to the world it's a crime". [21] Although the video is supportive of LGBT people Lion is himself hetero. [22] He considers himself to be a straight ally. [8]

I've had to deal with people calling me "fudgepacker", "gay lover", "homo" ... I just can't imagine how some people have to live their life [being called names] that way. So many people lack compassion. And yet, some people will mistake me for gay but just say, "It's cool". I’m just now realizing these facets. [8]

— Adair Lion

Critical reception

"Ben" was generally well received by music critics. LGBT blogger site Gawker called it the "world’s first pro-gay rap song" created for mainstream consumption. [23] Although homo hop, openly gay hip hop, has been a growing genre, it remains a niche market and largely insular to LGBT communities. [24]

In the lyrics Lion calls out Lil' Wayne, and Ye, a short from Yeezy, a nickname of rapper Kanye West. He was criticized for being a "hater" for doing so but defended his actions and stated that those artists are among his heroes: [1]

They are my idols. My point was that if you have that power of influence over the mass majority—especially in hip-hop—and you're not doing what you can, then the messages continue to be hidden. I was just saying a song like this from the hip-hop community is overdue. [8]

— Adair Lion

Music video

Lion uploaded "BEN - Adair Lion (Texas Rapper Makes "Gay is Okay" Song)", the music video April 30, 2012 to his YouTube channel. [1] The video was shot locally in Amarillo, Texas. [25] In its first week the video has over 156,000. [9] [26] After thirteen days the video was blocked by Universal Music Group and a replacement video not using a modified sample from Jackson was reposted. [9]

In the music video there are many references to the line "queer as a three dollar bill" as a metaphor for homophobic places accompanied by images of a Ben Franklin three-dollar bill, [12] but in the end of the video the bill is accepted [by hip hop] in exchange for rainbow-colored lollipops, a metaphor for acceptance of LGBT people. [12] The name comes from the expression "Queer as a three dollar bill". [12] The Bureau of Engraving and Printing has never been authorized to print a $3 note. However, before the Civil War, banks operating under State charters issued notes of that denomination. These notes were printed by private contractors and were not obligations of the federal government. "Queer as a three dollar bill" dates back to the 1920s and refers to anything strange, suspicious, though it can also refer to homosexual. [27] The image accompanying the single is of a pile of three dollar bills.

Lion noted that despite the video going viral, it was not being shown at most of the sites that had helped popularize his music by posting his earlier videos. [8] A replacement video was posted May 22, 2012 with a note, "this video's predecessor was blocked by UMG after 13 days and 156k views... this is a second version of the music video and does not contain any MJ samples. It is an entirely original piece -composed, written, recorded, mixed and mastered by Adair Lion." [28]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elephant Man (musician)</span> Jamaican dancehall musician (born 1975)

O'Neil Bryan, better known by his stage name Elephant Man, is a Jamaican dancehall musician, having formerly been a member of the dancehall group Scare Dem Crew prior to his solo career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One More Chance (The Notorious B.I.G. song)</span> 1995 single by The Notorious B.I.G.

"One More Chance / Stay with Me (Remix)" is a song written and recorded by American rapper The Notorious B.I.G. Three versions of the song exist: An original, lyrically explicit version prefaced by an answering machine performance featured on the album, and two versions released as singles, both of which contain identical lyrics by B.I.G. despite differing instrumentals and choruses. The first is an upbeat "Hip Hop Mix" that samples Marley Marl's "Droppin Science", and the second is a sultrier R&B remix parenthetically labeled the "Stay with Me Remix", which samples the namesake 1983 song by the band DeBarge. The lattermost remains the most popular, and features backing vocals and harmonies performed by his wife Faith Evans, as well as uncredited appearances by Mary J. Blige and Bad Boy Records label boss Puff Daddy—who also produced the version with Rashad Smith. It received platinum certification by the RIAA by July 31, 1995, and has sold 1.1 million copies.

Deep Dickollective (D/DC) was an LGBT hip hop group based in Oakland, California that were active in the homo hop scene of openly queer/LGBT artists during the 2000s. They were regular performers at the PeaceOUT World Homo Hop Festival curated by group co-founder Juba Kalamka.

QBoy is a UK-based rapper, producer, DJ, writer and presenter. He is one of the original few out rappers in hip hop circa 2001 that became pioneers of the new subgenre colloquially known as "homo hop". QBoy is currently a DJ and promoter of popular LGBTQ club night and party 'R & She: The Queens of Hip-Hop & R&B' which hosts events in London, Berlin and New York City.

Joseph Thomas Lee, better known by his stage name Deadlee, is an American rapper and songwriter. He is based in Los Angeles, California, is of Mexican American and African American descent, and launched his career in 2000. In 2002, he released his critically acclaimed first album 7 Deadlee Sins. The follow-up album, Assault With a Deadlee Weapon, was released in late 2006.

Tori Fixx is one of the first openly gay hip hop artists. He also produces music for other noted queer performers. He is based in Minneapolis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cazwell</span> American musician (born 1979)

Luke Caswell, known mononymously as Cazwell, is an American rapper, record producer, and songwriter. He has released the three studio albums Get into It in 2006, Watch My Mouth in 2009 and Hard 2 B Fresh in 2014, along with videos and singles.

Mélange Lavonne is an American rapper.

LGBTQ representation in hip hop music has existed since the birth of the genre even while enduring blatant discrimination. Due to its adjacency to disco, the earliest days of hip hop had a close relation to LGBT subcultures, and multiple LGBT DJs have played a role in popularizing hip hop. Since the early 2000s there has been a flourishing community of LGBTQ+ hip hop artists, activists, and performers breaking barriers in the mainstream music industry. Despite this early involvement, hip hop has long been portrayed as one of the least LGBT-friendly genres of music, with a significant body of the genre containing homophobic views and anti-gay lyrics, with mainstream artists such as Eminem and Tyler, the Creator having used casual homophobia in their lyrics, including usages of the word faggot. Attitudes towards homosexuality in hip hop culture have historically been negative, with slang that uses homosexuality as a punchline such as "sus", "no homo", and "pause" being heard in hip hop lyrics from some of the industry's biggest artists.

"No homo" is a slang phrase used at the end of a sentence to assert the statement or action by the speaker had no intentional homosexual implications. The phrase is also "added to a statement in order to rid [oneself] of a possible homosexual double-entendre".

Mark Julian Felder, more commonly known as Bizzle, is an American Christian hip hop recording artist and entrepreneur.

Comedy hip hop or comedy rap is a subgenre of hip hop music designed to be amusing or comedic, compared to artists who incorporate humor into their more serious, purist hip hop styles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All That (Lady)</span> 2013 single by The Game featuring Lil Wayne, Big Sean, Fabolous and Jeremih

"All That (Lady)" is a song by American rapper The Game, released as the second single from his fifth studio album Jesus Piece. The song features additional vocals from fellow rappers Lil Wayne, Big Sean, Fabolous and American singer/rapper Jeremih. The song contains a clear vocal sample of "Lady" by D'Angelo. The week of the album's release the song "All That (Lady)" debuted at number 48 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rap God</span> 2013 single by Eminem

"Rap God" is a song by American rapper Eminem. The song premiered via YouTube on October 14, 2013, and was released in the United States on October 15, 2013, as the third single from Eminem's eighth studio album, The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (2013). It contains references to previous conflicts in Eminem's career, as well as to other rappers' conduct.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cakes da Killa</span> American rapper

Rashard Bradshaw, better known as Cakes da Killa, is an American rap artist who fuses genres of hip hop, house, and electronic dance music. He came to prominence in the "queer explosion" of hip hop music stemming from New York in 2012 and is among the credited performers for the current trend of acceptance of LGBT people in the rap community. Bradshaw is currently based in Atlanta and his second full-length studio album Svengali was released on October 28, 2022.

Franklin Freeman Randall, known by his stage name Fly Young Red is an American rapper who gained notoriety due to his controversial song "Throw That Boy Pussy".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Throw That Boy Pussy</span> 2013 single by Fly Young Red

"Throw That Boy Pussy" is a song performed by American rapper Fly Young Red, issued as a single in September 2013; with the music video premiering in March 2014. The song heavily references homosexual anilingus with many same gender sexual overtones. The song mainly samples Lil Wayne and Trina's "Wowzers" single also released in 2013.

"Crayons" is a song by independent American rapper Cupcakke from her third studio album Ephorize. The track features a pro-LGBTQ message.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City Girls</span> American hip hop duo

City Girls was an American hip hop duo consisting of Yung Miami and JT, both of whom originate from Miami, Florida. The duo signed with Quality Control Music, an imprint of Motown and Capitol Records to release their debut mixtape, Period (2018). Two months later, they garnered mainstream attention following their guest performances on Drake's 2018 single, "In My Feelings", which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lil Nas X</span> American rapper (born 1999)

Montero Lamar Hill, better known by his stage name Lil Nas X, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his 2019 country rap single "Old Town Road," the longest-running number-one song since the U.S. Billboard Hot 100's 1958 inception. Simultaneously, he came out as gay, the only artist to do so while having a number-one record.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 An El Paso Native's Controversial Music Video Goes Viral, May 7, 2012, KTSM Chanel 9 News.
  2. 1 2 Karen Smith Welch. "Amarillo rapper's viral video declares, 'Gay is OK'". Amarillo-Globe News, May 8, 2012.
  3. ↑ Adair Lion Calls Lil' Wayne & Kanye West To Action! Makes Pro-LGBT Rap Song!!! PerezHilton.com, May 4, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Gay Is Okay": Amarillo Rapper Adair Lion's New Video For "Ben", By Audra Schroeder Tue., May 1, 2012, Dallas Observer.
  5. ↑ Rapper uses MJ song to tell hip-hop world that 'gay is OK' Archived 2012-05-05 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 4 May 2012
  6. ↑ Rapper Adair Lion Offers Up Awesome 'Gay is Okay' Video, MAY. 1,2012 Andy Towle,Towleroad
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "How "Ben" song and video was born Archived 2012-05-09 at the Wayback Machine ". Adair Lion. AdairLion.com. May 26, 2012.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Rich Lopez. "EXCLUSIVE: Amarillo rapper Adair Lion reflects on the 3 days since his 'Gay is Okay' went viral Archived 2012-05-08 at the Wayback Machine ". Dallas Voice, May 4, 2012. Retrieved May 26, 2012.
  9. 1 2 3 Welch, Karen Smith (June 7, 2012). ""Gay is OK" Amarillo rapper named an Equality Texas Ally". Amarillo Globe-News. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  10. ↑ "J.C. Penney, Adair Lion to receive Ally Awards from Equality Texas". Dallas Voice. June 1, 2012. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  11. 1 2 3 Gold, Scott (August 18, 2012). "For hip-hop and gay rights, a transformative moment: The notoriously homophobic music scene is having a change of heart. In song or in interviews, headliners are showing support for the gay community". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Mitch (8 May 2012). "The Daily Buzz - Adair Lion - "gay is okay"". The Daily Buzz. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  13. ↑ "Adair Lion. "Ben Lyrics". Adairlion.com. May 26, 2012". Archived from the original on May 22, 2012. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  14. ↑ 'Gay Is Okay,' Adair Lion's Pro-LGBT Youth Rap, Samples Michael Jackson, Curtis M. Wong, May 1, 2012. Huffington Post .
  15. ↑ Wyatt Buchanan (October 21, 2005). "Marriage can be right for us all, says Dan Savage. But let's not get carried away with monogamy". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on January 6, 2012. Retrieved April 30, 2011.
  16. ↑ "Video: Authors @Google: Dan Savage and Terry Miller on the It Gets Better Project | It Gets Better Project". Itgetsbetter.org. Archived from the original on 2011-06-03. Retrieved 2011-08-21.
  17. ↑ "GT Investigates - In This Issue". GayTimes. Archived from the original on 2010-11-14. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
  18. ↑ "In suicide's wake, a message to gay teens: Hang on; you are not alone". St. Petersburg Times; Tampabay.com. 2 October 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-10-05. Retrieved 2010-10-16.
  19. ↑ Parker-Pope, Tara (September 22, 2010). "Showing Gay Teens a Happy Future". The New York Times .
  20. ↑ Straight Rapper Takes On Homophobia (With Some Michael Jackson Mixed In), Tanene Allison, May 7, 2012. Huffington Post.
  21. ↑ 'Gay Is Okay,' Adair Lion's Pro-LGBT Youth Rap, Samples Michael Jackson retrieved 4 May 2012
  22. ↑ Texas Rapper Adair Lion Releases MJ-Inspired “Gay Is Okay” retrieved 4 May 2012
  23. ↑ Neethzan Zimmerman. "The World's First Pro-Gay Rap Song is Actually Not Half Bad Archived May 10, 2012, at the Wayback Machine ". Gawker May 3, 2012. Retrieved May 26, 2012.
  24. ↑ Wilson, D. Mark (2007). "Post-Pomo Hip-Hop Homos: Hip-Hop Art, Gay Rappers, and Social Change". Social Justice. No. 1 (107). 34 (Art, Identity and Social Justice): 117–140. JSTOR   29768425.
  25. ↑ Local Rapper, Adair Lion, Getting National Attention for "Ben" Archived 2012-05-25 at the Wayback Machine , KAMR Fox 14, Meaghan Collier. May 3, 2012.
  26. ↑ Lion, Adair (April 30, 2012). "BEN - Adair Lion (Texas Rapper Makes "Gay is Okay" Song)". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
  27. ↑ Robert Hendrickson, The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Words and Phrases Origins. Checkmark Books, 2000. pg. 558.
  28. ↑ Lion, Adair (May 22, 2012). "Ben - Adair Lion (Texas Rapper Makes "Gay Is Okay" Song)". Above The Notes. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.