Tyler The Creator Dissects Homophobic Stereotype, "Gay Just Means You're Stupid"

In Tyler's eyes, the term "gay" is less harmful than most people assume.

"I'm not homophobic. I just think f*ggot hits and hurts people. It hits. And gay just means you're stupid. I don't know, we don't think about it, we're just kids. We don't think about that sh*t. But I don't hate gay people. I don't want anyone to think I'm homophobic. ([His friend] Jasper walks into the room) But he's a f*cking f*ggot!" (NME Magazine)

Last week, Chicago rapper Yung Berg shared his thoughts on Lil B's title.

"A lot of people are scared to do that," says Yung Berg. "I think that Lil B stands for what a lot of people are scared of. They're scared of somebody with a voice and an opinion that really doesn't give a f*ck about what somebody else thinks about them...With the whole 'I'm Gay' situation, I understand it 100 percent. People give too much power to words. So if he jumps out there and it's a positive thing and says, 'Yo, I'm gay, and we're gonna take the definition away from the word and unify it to all people,' then I'm with that. That's some next-level sh*t right there." (Billboard)

Since publicly announcing the title at this month's Coachella music festival, Lil B has encountered extreme criticism.

"People been hitting me up like, 'I'm gonna bash your head in,' 'you f----t,' 'I'm gonna kill you,' " Lil B said in an interview. "I'm not gonna stop and I'm not scared of anybody on earth. That's why I [titled the album I'm Gay] and nobody gonna stop me...I'm very gay, but I love women. I'm not attracted to men in any way. I've never been attracted to a man in my life. But yes I am gay, I'm so happy. I'm a gay, heterosexual male." (MTV)

He officially announced his album title initiative during a Coachella performance in his home state.

"I'm gonna do the most controversial thing in hip-hop," B said while performing at Coachella in Indio, California. "Y'all heard it hear first. And I'm gonna just show y'all that words don't mean sh*t. I'm gonna make an album called 'I'm Gay.' Now I'm gonna tell y'all why I'm the first person to do it in hip-hop and why y'all are the first people to know my reason...First of all, gay means happy. I like women, I love women, you feel me? But it just shows me, no matter what you do, live life, you only got one life to live, be happy. F*ck the hating." (YouTube)