Snoop Lion Talks Homosexuality In Rap Music, Frank Ocean's Coming Out

The artist formerly known as Snoop Dogg tells NME he doesn't think homosexuality will ever be fully acceptable in rap music.

The newly-christened Snoop Lion, who previously spoke out in support of same-sex marriage in an interview with HuffPost Entertainment, tells the publication that the "masculine" aspects of hip-hop music create unique challenges for gay musicians.

"It's like a football team," he said. "You can't be in a locker room full of motherf**king tough a** dudes, then all of a sudden say, 'Hey, man, I like you.' You know, that's going to be tough."

Of Frank Ocean, the Grammy-winning hip-hop artist who came out in a blog last year, the rapper noted, "He's a singer. It's acceptable in the singing world, but in the rap world I don't know if it will ever be acceptable because rap is so masculine." Still, Snoop's personal take on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community is far more open-minded: "I don't have a problem with gay people. I got some gay homies."

There have, however, been a number of recent strides towards LGBT acceptance in the rap and hip-hop world. Last summer, Seattle-based hip-hop artist Macklemore paired up with Ryan Lewis for "Same Love," a song penned in support of same-sex marriage. The tender video for the song depicts a gay man's life, from an embattled childhood through a joyous wedding day.