If you’re a fan of old school hip hop, then chances are you’ve heard of West Coast rap pioneer Coolio. His catalog contains mid 90’s hits such as “Gangster’s Paradise”, “Fantastic Voyage” and a lot more to date. Although the new generation of hip hop may no longer put songs such as this on a pedastal, Coolio might have found a way to find a.. um, new fan base. Coolio agreed to do a promo song for the website Pornhub.com, who agreed to supply their own porn actresses for the production of the music video. Previous reports issued earlier this week have indicated that Coolio signed a long term deal with the well-known video site, but the 51-year-old rapper heatedly insisted the implications were false.
Still, rappers and sex and the use of carnal imagery has been a part of hip hop for a long time.
I know for some of you, this is a turn off. I too, thought Coolio was out of his mind – until I ran down the list of rappers who have hosted and/or participated in adult movies or had a video too explicit for television or even YouTube. Rap legend Tupac had an X-rated version of his hit song How Do You Want It feat. R&B stars Jodeci; Lil Kim had a sex tape out before she became the Queen Bee she is today. The infamous 2 Live Crew is probably one of the most controversial rap groups for leading the front on sexual exploitation of women. Their highly sexualized videos and lyrics led to lawsuits and court hearings in several unsuccessful attempts to silence the stars from their fans.
Ray J and Kim Kardashian, Tupac (again), Mimi of Love and Hip Hop and R. Kelly have all been in their own sex tape scandals.
Some rappers have taken the role of producer in porn cinema. Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle mixed his love for hip hop music and adult film making (Snoop himself stayed dressed through the entire movie). Lil Jon and Dipset both hosted adult films a few years back. Young Money’s own Tyga also made a adult movie, Rack City which he did not perform in either. The point I want to make is, no matter what you may think, the sex industry and hip hop have a long standing relationship. There is clearly an audience for this material. While Coolio, quite sensibly, has not actually hosted an adult movie, it does not mean another hip hop star won’t. Personally, I think World Star Hip Hop tip toes on line of eroticism agglutinated with hip hop culture on a regular basis.
