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We Are Black and British: Gay rapper Mista Strange ‘not afraid’ to rap about sexuality after coming out
We Are Black and British airs on BBC Two tonight exploring key topics within the Black community (Picture: BBC)
Mista Strange has recalled the freeing moment he realised he could rap about his true sexuality after coming out.
The 22-year-old, who stars in BBC Two’s We Are Black and British, came out in 2020 and has been hailed as the first openly gay drill rapper in the UK.
In the new two-part documentary, Mista Strange is joined by five other Black figures from around the UK to discuss their experiences of being Black British, including hard-hitting topics such as racism and the LGBTQ+ community.
During the first episode, which airs tonight, the rapper shares his story of coming out as gay in January 2020.
He touches on finally being able to rap about his experiences dating men in his lyrics for the first time.
Speaking to Metro.co.uk ahead of the broadcast, Strange said: ‘Before I came out I started to write some lyrics hinting, very subtle and I was the only person who knew what I was saying.
‘I honestly felt people would notice.
‘After I came out, I always rap about what I’m going through so it would be no different after I’ve come out. I’m exploring my sexuality, I’ve found this new lease of life, I’m enjoying that and experiencing it.’
He continued: ‘I have dated girls and that’s what I was rapping about, even if it was a stage of denial and I hadn’t come to full acceptance of who I was, nonetheless it was what I’m going through. I’m not afraid to switch my lyrics depending on what I’m going through.
‘When I was on Black and British, I had my nails painted. I’m not afraid to be who I am – we wear many faces.’
Strange admitted that, prior to sharing his sexuality publicly, he was a little worried about the Black community’s reaction given LGBTQ+ issues can often be taboo.
‘For any Black gay kid, there are challenges we face within the Black community in regards to sexuality; attitudes, culture, religion,’ he stated.
‘I definitely felt that I would be more widely accepted by white people and that’s the case for a lot of Black gay kids. I just feel attitudes towards sexuality within the white community are just more relaxed and more accepted.
‘We still have a long way to go.’
Strange said he is tired of the narrative of ‘poor old Black gay kid in the rap industry, it must be so hard for him’.
‘Well it is but there are loads of things in life that are hard. Is the scene homophobic? Of course it is, that’s not a surprise,’ he said.
Strange is keen to dispel the stereotype that gay men are feminine, and admitted he actually felt pressure to be less masculine rather than more.
‘Emotion isn’t synonymous with femininity. Masculinity is more emotional than femininity, men throw tantrums all the time, it’s just in the form of rage. Men are just as emotional,’ he explained.
‘There’s a lot of responsibility that has been put onto me and that I put onto myself to speak to my community and to know the facts. So for me to cry, I didn’t really think about it too much.
‘I do feel there’s pressure on the gay community to be feminine, I definitely felt that myself. When you’re gay you don’t get to explore a lot of these things, you’re often told who you are.’
More: BBC
He added powerfully: ‘There’s strength in emotion.’
Despite some intense moments and clashes during We Are Black and British, Strange said he had an overall positive experience on the show, which sees the talking heads all living together in one house.
‘When I left, I had an epiphany and what I realised is there’s no single way to get the results that we want,’ he said. ‘There’s no one way that’s right, there are five other alternative viewpoints so I had to realise that as much as I disagree with people, I doubt a single person isn’t there for the betterment of Black people.’
We Are Black and British airs on BBC Two tonight and tomorrow at 9pm.
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