>as sad as it is; homophobia and misogyny fits right in hand
>with what they were trying to project...it made misguided
>sense, lol. Kinda like Id give NWA a pass.
>
>Besties were also refining their sound/image and were a
>totally different band from that point on.

Fine. Still doesn't "excuse" the homophobia and misogyny but explains why they were willing to "go there". But if you're willing to establish and accept context when it comes to Beasties, then ....


>Mixing D.A.I.S.Y age shenanigans and Native Tongues positivity
>while making a homophobic classic is a harder thing to
>balance, lol.
>
>Like I said it was at the height of their powers and when the
>band was fully formed musically which is why such a left turn
>feels forced and intentional. If we were talking people's
>instinctive demos id feel a bit differently, but this was
>Tribe at their best when they dropped this ball.

.... why can't you/rdhull/etc. consider the FULL context in regards to Tribe ? Sure, setting aside the FULL context of the time period and looking at this situation with 2016 eyes only, I agree that homophobia coming from an otherwise "positive" or "socially conscious" group is a strange look. But in the FULL context of the time period, even the most socially aware and righteous hip-hop folks were STILL homophobic, basically all of them. I bet if you go back and listen to early lyrics from any golden-era MC, each and every one of them, regardless of their "shticks" or "brands," spit some form of homophobic lyrics at some point. Tribe was no different. Why can't we judge them with the same lens you are willing to judge BBs with ? Why is is OK to spit homophobia on your first album but not your second ? Why is it more OK / passable to support your "brand" than it is if it, in your opinion, goes against the brand a group is out there portraying ?

In other words, Tribe came up in a time when nearly everyone was homophobic. THIS DOES NOT MAKE IT RIGHT. It simply provides context and explains why an otherwise socially aware group like Tribe may have had those deplorable beliefs at the time of this song's conception.

Neither is more worthy of a "pass" than the other, IMO. The word "faggot" stings and is wrong no matter the context.