SPIN:

From Afrika Bambaataa to André 3000 to Danny Brown, rap has long been full of flamboyance, but no gifted MC has quite flaunted his originality in the manner of New York’s Le1f via the just-out video for his bounce-addled track, “Wut.” In one scene, wearing high purple daisy dukes, he slides across the floor, working his skinny legs like mechanical cranks edging him closer to the camera. In another, after a brag about “getting light in my loafers,” he straddles the knee of a buff male model, fast-rapping with flair.

Yes, Le1f is a gay man. His profile has been slowly growing since Greedhead (the label run by Das Racist’s Himanshu Suri) dropped the free Dark York mixtape back in April. With beats by left-fielders like Nguzunguzu and Matt Shadetek, it’s hardly the usual rap blog fare, but ever since the Fader debuted the “Wut” video on Thursday, the headlines have been accumulating, and some are downright shameful.

You won’t find Le1f at Chick-fil-A anytime soon. “I’m proud to be called a gay rapper, but it’s not gay rap. That’s not a genre,” Le1f says. We agree with that notion, good, original music is what it is. Watch the colorful artist’s video, directed by Sam Jones, at the header and download his mixtape Dark York HERE. Also check out bounce artist Nicky Da B.

–@teemunny

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