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Hard Cock Life: the gay club night turning the tables on rap prejudice Hard Cock Life: the gay club night turning the tables on rap prejudice
(about 21 hours later)
A couple of years ago, my friend Josh Cole sat me down in a pub and explained that, being gay and liking hip-hop, he wanted to start a gay hip-hop night. He wondered if I would DJ. Not being gay wouldn’t be an obstacle. Neither would not being able to DJ. We threw around some names – Gangster’s Paradick, Straight Outta Old Compton Street, Liquid Swords – before we settled on Hard Cock Life, inspired by both Annie and Jay Z.A couple of years ago, my friend Josh Cole sat me down in a pub and explained that, being gay and liking hip-hop, he wanted to start a gay hip-hop night. He wondered if I would DJ. Not being gay wouldn’t be an obstacle. Neither would not being able to DJ. We threw around some names – Gangster’s Paradick, Straight Outta Old Compton Street, Liquid Swords – before we settled on Hard Cock Life, inspired by both Annie and Jay Z.
The first venue was a tiny basement in north London, and the cover charge was 99p (change provided). It started out as a party of old mates, although gradually a crowd arrived. The sound system was dreadful, and at one point a DJ’s 14-year-old sister found herself minding the decks while he was out having a cigarette. Still, it must have satisfied some kind of need, because it sold out and moved to a bigger basement up the road (a brief stay at the Arcola theatre in east London was promptly ended after an incident regarding a broken sink). By this point, the queues stretched around the block, and we went legit with a person on the door and a bouncer, along with massive inflatable penises to pass around the dancefloor.The first venue was a tiny basement in north London, and the cover charge was 99p (change provided). It started out as a party of old mates, although gradually a crowd arrived. The sound system was dreadful, and at one point a DJ’s 14-year-old sister found herself minding the decks while he was out having a cigarette. Still, it must have satisfied some kind of need, because it sold out and moved to a bigger basement up the road (a brief stay at the Arcola theatre in east London was promptly ended after an incident regarding a broken sink). By this point, the queues stretched around the block, and we went legit with a person on the door and a bouncer, along with massive inflatable penises to pass around the dancefloor.
Handsome, sweaty men were soon packed cheek to neck, powered by booming Mykki Blanco or Lil’ Kim. Nobody could get to the bar or the loo. Professional DJs replaced the “bloke in a suit on his iPod”. These days, Hard Cock Life is bi-monthly event at the Ace Hotel in Shoreditch. About 400 people attend and as many more queue trying to get in. This weekend, we’re playing at Bestival, where I’ve been invited as a kind of testimonial for a tired, straight old carthorse. Plans are afoot for one in New York, too. The HCL’s Facebook page – somewhat NSFW, depending on where you W – is a riot and has thousands of followers. Handsome, sweaty men were soon packed cheek to neck, powered by booming Mykki Blanco or Lil’ Kim. Nobody could get to the bar or the loo. Professional DJs replaced the “bloke in a suit on his iPod”. These days, Hard Cock Life is a bi-monthly event at the Ace Hotel in Shoreditch. About 400 people attend and as many more queue trying to get in. This weekend, we’re playing at Bestival, where I’ve been invited as a kind of testimonial for a tired, straight old carthorse. Plans are afoot for one in New York, too. The HCL’s Facebook page – somewhat NSFW, depending on where you W – is a riot and has thousands of followers.
“Hard Cock Life is basically the only place I feel alright being gay, Pakistani and into rap,” one guy explained to me the last time I played. I hear similar things from a lot of people. It seems to attract an unusually diverse mix: art-school kids, Soho jocks, misfits, models, hip-hop heads and hipsters. There aren’t many women, but those who turn up appear to be having the time of their lives.“Hard Cock Life is basically the only place I feel alright being gay, Pakistani and into rap,” one guy explained to me the last time I played. I hear similar things from a lot of people. It seems to attract an unusually diverse mix: art-school kids, Soho jocks, misfits, models, hip-hop heads and hipsters. There aren’t many women, but those who turn up appear to be having the time of their lives.
So why has HCL struck such a chord? Thanks to performers such as Angel Haze, Le1f and Zebra Katz, hip-hop has had something of a queer moment in the past few years. But while New York has seen a proliferation of talented openly gay rappers, London and the UK at large lag behind. Are the crowds in UK hip-hop clubs too intimidating? The feeling of subversiveness, the sense that hip-hop rules are being broken, gives HCL some of its energy, but it’s also a sign that things are not yet equal – and in many places, barely tolerant.So why has HCL struck such a chord? Thanks to performers such as Angel Haze, Le1f and Zebra Katz, hip-hop has had something of a queer moment in the past few years. But while New York has seen a proliferation of talented openly gay rappers, London and the UK at large lag behind. Are the crowds in UK hip-hop clubs too intimidating? The feeling of subversiveness, the sense that hip-hop rules are being broken, gives HCL some of its energy, but it’s also a sign that things are not yet equal – and in many places, barely tolerant.
Josh hopes HCL is helping to change that. “I think it unites rap’s often disgustingly macho attitude with a flamboyant gay aesthetic. It’s wilfully ridiculous. I’d love HCL to become a platform for a new generation of UK rappers,” he says. This might already be happening. The club night hosted the first gig of 20-year-old Prince Kongo – a West African-born, London-raised performer – and it went incredibly well. “He has the most amazing presence,” says Josh, who adds: “This night is about pushing gay youth culture and contemporary hip-hop in an upfront and sexualised way, especially for people who haven’t previously had a space to reconcile those two parts of their lives.”Josh hopes HCL is helping to change that. “I think it unites rap’s often disgustingly macho attitude with a flamboyant gay aesthetic. It’s wilfully ridiculous. I’d love HCL to become a platform for a new generation of UK rappers,” he says. This might already be happening. The club night hosted the first gig of 20-year-old Prince Kongo – a West African-born, London-raised performer – and it went incredibly well. “He has the most amazing presence,” says Josh, who adds: “This night is about pushing gay youth culture and contemporary hip-hop in an upfront and sexualised way, especially for people who haven’t previously had a space to reconcile those two parts of their lives.”
For me, the appeal is more simple: as a portly public-schoolboy graduate, I’m used to sticking out at hip-hop clubs, but at HCL I am blissfully invisible. I can dance, shout and sing along with impunity. Nobody cares.For me, the appeal is more simple: as a portly public-schoolboy graduate, I’m used to sticking out at hip-hop clubs, but at HCL I am blissfully invisible. I can dance, shout and sing along with impunity. Nobody cares.