An interview with bisexual hip hop artist Paradigm (Shante Smalls) one-half of queer hip hop due B.Q.E., about her career, her music, and the queer hip hop movement. AfterEllen.com: You've been described in various ways: as an activist, a poet, a lesbian rapper, etc. How would you describe yourself? Paradigm: Well, I'm sort of all three. I say sort of because I don't identify as a lesbian. I call myself bisexual or queer. But I am an artist first, mostly working with the written or spoken word and music. I was speaking with an acquaintance last night about how the separation between art, politics and spirituality is a not really that interesting to me. I'm actually in graduate school right now designing my own program in Performance Art, Cultural Theory and Social Justice Movements. I'm doing a lot of MCing and poetry.

AE: Are there more gay women in hip hop now then there were a few years ago? Is it getting easier or harder to come out as a lesbian or bisexual rapper?
P: I think there are definitely some women out there doing their thing. I know some of them. JenRo is tight, she's in the Bronx now but is from the East Bay, The Bay is definitely representing. Also, Goddess, she's really dope. There is this sistah, Phiyah who is on the "Life on Christopher Street" cd. A lot of these women are working on albums, but then there are a whole lot of chicks just freestyling in cyphers (street corners, clubs, house parties) and they are the most talented heads.

I think it's always hard to be a dyke. Especially being a dyke of color doing hip-hop--there's really no love given by our various communities. Whether it's facing white privilege, male privilege or heterosexual privilege, women of color are definitely marginalized--our lives and who we love are consistently rendered invisible.

AE: Are female hip hop artists in general automatically perceived to be gay just because they're trying to succeed in an arena that has been perceived to be traditionally male territory?
P: There are basically two major roles a mainstream female MC can play: supa hoe, sex pot--like my girl Lil Kim and maybe Foxy Brown to a degree--and what I could call a Femme Thug, like Da Brat or MC Lyte or the late Left Eye. Lauryn Hill broke the mode a little bit by just being herself, you know a sistah with dreds, speaking truth to power. But I think a woman who imitates male values is much more valued than a woman who is more organic. I don't know if they are seen as gay because they are trying to be an MC, I think they might be perceived as gay 'cuz some of them are.

AE: Have you found your sexuality to be an issue is trying to establish your career in hip hop?
P: Well, you know, black sexuality is always on display whether we want it to be or not. I guess for me, it's almost been an addendum to me. I mean if you google me, it's all LGBT this, gay that, queer such and such--there's no doubt that I'm queer or queer-friendly. And not to sound like an asshole, but how I express my sexuality is my business and I don't like being told I have to say certain things to be accepted. I'm an underground hip hop artist, I'm not going mainstream any time soon, I think most people who listen only to Top 40 have not interest in what I talk about--racism, rape, anti-war stuff, black on black violence. It's not pop music.

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