Sara, of singing sisters Tegan & Sara, damns the “misogyny and homophobia” of rap upstart Tyler The Creator.
Tyler The Creator, of loose-knit LA hip-hop crew Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, has become the darling of the critics, but Tegan & Sara aren’t having a bar of it.
Sara has written an open letter on their website ripping into the rapper for the homophobic slurs and violent and degrading imagery in his work, particularly the new album Goblin,and calling out complicit media.
She questions the difference between his controversial lyrics and anti-Semitic or racist slurs, and writes, “While an artist who can barely get a sentence fragment out without using homophobic slurs is celebrated on the cover of every magazine, blog and newspaper, I’m disheartened that any self-respecting human being could stand in support with a message so vile.”
She continues “If any of the bands whose records are held in similar esteem as Goblin had lyrics littered with rape fantasies and slurs, would they be labeled hate mongers? I realize I could ask that question of DOZENS of other artists, but is Tyler exempt because people are afraid of the backlash?”
While she admits she’s not so naïve to assume artists and genres aren’t allowed to have controversial characters, she asserts, “It is not without great hesitation and hand wringing that I enter into the discourse about Tyler, the media who glorifies and excuses misogyny and homophobia, and the community of artists that doesn’t seem remotely bothered by it.”
You can read the whole letter at their site, here, under the title ‘A Call For Change’.
VIDEO: Check out our interview with Tegan And Sara below.
