'Leviticus: Faggot' 25 Years Later - A Visual Musing On A Black Queer Musical Achievement
Content warning: Music video features themes that include homophobic violence, self-harm and suicide.
“Hey faggot, better run learn to run ’cause daddy’s home
Daddy’s sweet lil’ boy just a little too sweet…”
On June 25, 1996, Meshell Ndegeocello released her sophomore album Peace Beyond Passion, and “Leviticus: Faggot,” released the day after my 19th birthday on May 21, 1996, was one of the lead singles. The sky opened and the way I listened to music shifted.
I am sure I’d seen the word faggot written before, and I am very sure I’d heard it in music before, but not in a context like this. In 1996, I hadn’t yet come out, and I was searching for a connection to explain who I was in a way that felt genuine. Ndegeocello’s use of the loaded f-word in this song in a way that wasn’t being used to hurt or taunt me, but as a means to introduce me to a story about someone who I might know was life altering.
This time, the hurtful slur was inspirational.
lev radin / Shutterstock.com
“Ndegéocello knew she’d get heat for the song and especially for her use of the f word, which raised eyebrows in the gay community, too. ‘My use of the word is relevant,’ she says. ‘It’s to show this person was called that, and his identity was stripped away. That’s all he became. And he paid for it with his life.’ She sighs. ‘I guess audiences don’t listen to words anymore.’ She doesn’t expect as much trouble from the n word in ‘Deuteronomy’; that epithet occurs commonly enough in hip-hop songs, and though she admits she uses it flippantly, Ndegéocello sees a deeper reason for its acceptance. ‘It’s all right for black people to Uncle Tom themselves by calling each other nigger. We’re used to defacing ourselves in that way.’”
Music is the most persistent source of comfort in my life. I could get lost in the melodies of Stevie Wonder and the instrumentation of Chaka Khan's voice as a place to find answers to questions I hadn’t yet asked.
“Leviticus: Faggot” wasn’t the first time I had to confront the use of a problematic, hurtful term in music. The first time was in 1988 when I learned what the acronym N.W.A. stood for juxtaposed with their single “Express Yourself.” It helped me understand that something hurtful could also be placed in the context of a message that could uplift.
I confronted my deepest fears through accepting “Leviticus: Faggot.” Because I wasn’t out, I didn’t have language to express what I was feeling. And while a very specific story, the song and accompanying video helped me learn about one kind of experience Black LGBTQ+ individuals may encounter.
Album Cover - Funkadelic Standing on the Verge of Getting It On (1974)
“Ndegeocello claims that ‘Leviticus: Faggot’ is a reference to Funkadelic’s ‘Jimmy’s Got A Little Bit of Bitch in Him’ from their 1974 album Standing on the Verge of Getting It On (Powell, 1996). ‘Jimmy’ is a playful, flamboyant tune about the unconventional gender traits of a gay man. However, the political courage and lyrical-musical complexities of ‘Leviticus: Faggot’ far surpass those of ‘Jimmy.’”
Everything comes from somewhere, and inspiration can be derived from many places. Recorded history tells us that “Leviticus: Faggot” was inspired by Funkadelic’s “Jimmy’s Got A Little Bit of Bitch In Him.” The only mention that I have found about this, by Ndegeocello, is an unsupported quote from a Peace Beyond Passion-era interview that’s no longer available online. It’s not surprising, however, that Ndegeocello would take inspiration from such a tune with its great bass work.
Standing on the Verge of Getting It On by Funkadelic is a standout album, however, available research about the record provides very little information about “Jimmy...”. That’s unfortunate because I have always believed that Funkadelic embodied, implicitly or explicitly, a queer aesthetic, that opened doors for other Black male artists like Prince to walk through.
“Jimmy’s Got A Little Bit of Bitch in Him” is a slice of rock history that is of a specific era and reflective of those social norms. “Leviticus: Faggot” represented an evolution, a Black queer person speaking about a Black queer experience instead of a story being told about us from someone outside of the community.
“His mother would pray
Save him, save him, save him from this life...”
We talk today about “understanding the assignment.” On July 13, 1996, weeks after the release of Peace Beyond Passion, Nedegeocello hit the stage at the North Sea Jazz Festival in Holland and performed “Leviticus: Faggot” live. She understood the assignment, and stood on stage, her bass reaching up to God, and told this queer story to the concertgoers. Her set overlapped with performances by Little Richard and Sounds of Blackness on other stages. There was no escape for them. They were going to get this Blackness whether they wanted to or not.
“There was no escape for them. They were going to get this Blackness whether they wanted to or not.”
For me, a Black gay man in 2021, watching this gospel and jazz-influenced performance still inspires hope for what can be. What are unique ways for our ability to tell our own stories? We have come a long way since 1996, but we also know that a Black LGBTQ+ person is being cast out of their home by the people tasked to love them as we read these words.
How far have we really come?
Johnnie Ray Kornegay III (aka Jay Ray) serves as Deputy Director of Strategy and Impact for The Counter Narrative Project (CNP), an organization committed to countering narratives and speaking truth to power. In addition, he is co-host and producer of the podcast Queue Points, a visual podcast where he and his co-host, DJ Sir Daniel, inform and celebrate Black Music creatives through meaningful dialogue.
Connect with Johnnie: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn