Royce Da 5’9 has made it a personal mission to rid himself of damaging thoughts and beliefs. Fresh off the release of The Allegory and witnessessing the global change in regards to racism and police brutality, Royce knows what side he belongs to – those wanting to make a positive difference.
“We’re just going to change shit. That’s the side I’m on,” he said. “We changing shit We changing the world.”
One of those changes? Speaking up on behalf of the LGBTQ community as well as ridding all homophobia from his life.
“Not only am I going to talk like this, I’m going to walk it, because you’re about to see a big change with me with the LGBTQ community,” he says. “Crimes against black trans-women, black trans-men, just the way that they’re overlooked. All of these things have been placed in front of me. And the way that I use my words in my raps, which I’ve found to be therapeutic to be able to express myself unapologetically, however I feel.”
The Bad Meets Evil rapper added that one of Hollywood’s most notable actors, as well as a Grammy-nominated singer and activist, helped shape his new outlook.
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“Billy Porter inspired this and there was a Zoom call that I did with Janelle Monáe on it, and she brought it to my attention,” Royce says. “She brought it to my attention, to our attention. She brought it to our attention. And the fact that I’d never even thought about it that way, it’s problematic, but that’s okay. I understand how certain things can not get looked at a certain way if there’s no motive to look at it. People like to be lazy. I was being lazy about it. Because I’m guarding my own energy. I want to be able to talk how I want to talk, you don’t fucking tell me how to talk. You can’t tell me I’m homophobic. If I’m not homophobic. White people probably feel the same way. “I didn’t say I was racist, you try to make me racist just because I’m not listening and meeting all your demands.”
He continued, “Well, what I’m learning is we got to start taking some fucking steps. Some steps got to be taken. And in order for me to call myself a lyricist on certain levels and I’m aspiring to be as nice as Black Thought. and I think I can find words to use where I don’t need those words. I think that’s the least I could do. That’s the first I could do. Black Thought don’t do it. He doesn’t need to use certain words in order to get his points across, and he’s considered one of the greatest I’ve ever heard. So neither do I.”
Watch the clip above at around the 35-minute mark.