Jidenna Says Homosexuality Always Existed In African Culture: It Wasn’t Brought Over By Europeans! 

Jidenna

Jidenna Says Homosexuality Always Existed In African Culture: It Wasn’t Brought Over By Europeans!

Jidenna is opening up about homosexuality in the African culture. The singer, who partially grew up in Nigeria and never hesitates to represent his background, is now speaking about myths concerning same-sex relationships in Africa.

During an interview he said,

“The whole idea that Black people, and our tradition to be Black… You hear these African leaders who are dressed in three-piece suits, got an iPhone, speaking in English and not their native tongue are saying, ‘it’s unafrican to be homosexual, it’s unafrican… we don’t have it. That was brought as a European import.’ It’s not true. It’s not true at all.”

He added,

“You got Uganda, the kingdom of Buganda at the time… Before Uganda, there was an openly gay king. If you go to Zimbabwe… the bushmen as they call them, you’ll see homosexual acts in the Cape paintings. If you go to different communities in Africa, there was different rights of passage where if a woman was with a woman, or a man was with a man, they were thought to be mower powerful. There was never a time where this didn’t exist, or where it was just hands down that homosexuals were wrong. That’s not actual an African thing, which means it’s not a Black thing.”

Jidenna

He also opened up about Maurice Willoughby, who went by Reese. Reese tragically committed suicide after being bullied for his relationship with a transgender woman. Reports also alleged that Reese suffered mental anguish and physically abused his girlfriend. Jidenna said,

“So, what is a foreign import is actually the idea that this is somehow wrong. That what Reese is doing is wrong. That’s the truth. That’s actual history. Y’all can google it. You can look it up. Don’t take my word for it. Look it up. To me, if you understand that, if you grew up knowing that, then you’re not gonna have those guys on the street bullying him. Then maybe he doesn’t commit suicide, then maybe he doesn’t beat her, because he’s beating himself inside.”

He then referenced his lyrics from his song “The Other Half” from his new album 85 to Africa. 

“And that’s what I say in ‘The Other Half.’ I said,’ I pray for my n***as surviving the pen. Demons taking my friends, boys pretending they’re men. B**** don’t f*** up my zen. My homie told me you violated a body and shorty that put me on 10. She begging me now to add it to the list of feelings I gotta keep in. Ain’t that the root of the drama? How we just lock up the trauma? Fighting within, fighting without, fighting, divide it, and conquer.'”

He added,

“Hurt people hurt people. When you see men hurting women or trans folk, or themselves, it’s because we don’t know how to express that all. And I’m still learning that day by day. Right now, I have the thinnest mask I have ever worn in my life and it feels great. I feel liberated.”

See his comments at the 20:24 mark.