Magic Johnson Brings Anti-Homophobia to Hip-Hop

Article written by: Zach Kay
Posted on: December 28, 2011

Former NBA star Magic Johnson wants to combat the hip hop community’s homophobic tendencies as well as bring awareness to HIV and AIDS through his anti-stereotypical coalition, according to HipHopDX.com.

“What we’re trying to do is reach out to the Hip Hop community because they have power — power with their voice, power with that mic in their hand and power with the lyrics that they sing,” Johnson told The Huffington Post of homophobia within the Black community.

“I have a lot of friends in [the Hip Hop] industry and so what we’re trying to do is rally them to get behind the cause, deliver the message to these young people that HIV and AIDS is big and it’s not going anywhere,” he continued. “They can make a difference right away by speaking out, because they have a big fan base.”

According to AllHipHop.com, Magic said that around five or six close hip-hop acquaintances are aligning with his new campaign in its early stages. Although he would not reveal the names of these artists, Magic plans to use their star power and fans to help spread positive messages about being gay.

“We’re going to name everybody in a little while because it’s more than one person. We’ve got about five or six people that we’re talking to. We’re going to come out next year with everybody and we’ll have a nice big press conference and what we’re going to do, what our plan is, because it’s so important that we rally — not just them, either. I need the Hip Hop community but I also need the basketball players and football players. We need a little bit of everybody, so that’s what we’re working on now.”

About 20 years ago, Magic revealed his HIV positive status to the world, in addition to retiring from the NBA in 1991. This new endeavor is his commemoration of the occasion, according to Complex.com.

This new plan is set to get off the ground in 2012.