Rapper Young Thug's New Mixtape Cover Sparks Conversation about Black Masculnity and Hip Hop

Rapper Young Thug has been making headlines since he first came out last year, but especially recently with the release of his latest mixtape JEFFERY. The hot topic of the album isn’t the song, though; it’s actually the album cover, where Young Thug is pictured sporting a frilly dress and a bonnet (see picture below)! Cue the die-hard homophobic hip hop fans questioning whether or not Thug is queer or fruity, etc. The cover itself has sparked quite a bit of conversation concerning hip hop music and black masculinity. The dress doesn’t surprise me too much, as Young Thug has previously stated that he doesn’t believe in the concept of gender (see Complex article). However, the cover did rub some people the wrong way, which is not so surprising. Read Complex’s take on why Thug decided to wear the dress and HuffPost’s article about the conversation Thug’s mixtape cover has sparked within the black community.

Photo Credit: http://images.genius.com/2eac8aad175d4eaf03b6f9cb91489498.1000x1000x1.jpg

 

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Photo Credit: http://thesource.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Young-Thug-dress-bonnet.jpg