If there’s one arena in entertainment that is lacking in mainstream gay practitioners, it’s hip-hop. The art form is dominated by hyper- masculinity, overt materialism and the objectification of women — as most male- dominated genres of music are.

Most of the genre’s biggest stars like Eminem, DMX and 50 Cent, have expressed some form of anti-gay slurs or sentiment in lyrics and interviews, most of the time with little or no consequence and no one to challenge them. A rather strange phenomenon, considering how hip-hop culture and videos have an almost fetish-like obsession with prison, jewelry, expensive cars, champagne, brand-name clothing and going shirtless.

Los Angeles-based rapper and actor Deadlee wants to see that change.

The self-described “queer bastard child of DMX and Lil’ Kim,” Deadlee has performed at the Peace Out Festivals in Oakland and New York City, on the main stage at San Francisco’s gay pride and HomoAGoGo in Olympia, Wash.

In an effort to make gays and lesbians more visible to mainstream rap audiences, Deadlee organized Homorevolution, a tour of gay, lesbian and bisexual rap and hip-hop artists hitting the West Coast and the Southwest in April featuring Johnny Dangerous, Delacruz, Melange, Lavonne, Salvimex, Bigg Nugg and JFP.

Deadlee is also taking part in “Out Loud & Proud,” an event comprised of six gay, straight, queer, lesbian and bisexual hip-hop artists and spoken-word poets April 14 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

On the eve of Homorevolution, Deadlee talked to PGN about the significance of the tour and the state of gays in the world of hip-hop.

PGN: How did the Homo-revolution tour come together?
D: It was me and the Milo management team and we just felt there was a need. We’ve been doing a yearly thing called the Peace Out Festival in Oakland and we just felt like, especially with Myspace, it seems like there was a lot of people that were calling for it. So we decided to do the same thing and get a group of openly gay rappers and take it on the road.

PGN: This tour is only on the West Coast, correct?
D: Yeah. Right now we’re doing that but I know we’re looking at doing maybe the Midwest and eventually spreading it out. Then, of course, me and a few other cats are going to be in New Jersey for Out Loud & Proud April 14. So you’ll get a taste of it. We’re definitely thinking of doing the Homorevolution in the fall in all the East Coast cities for sure and definitely for sure Philly.

PGN: Have any of the mainstream rap publications expressed interest in covering the tour?
D: Already, AllHipHop.com did a little piece on it. XXL, they talked about it. That was cool that they even mentioned it but I was surprised about some of the flack that we got just reading some of the comments back. There’s a lot of hate still out there. They really don’t take to a gay person stepping up and picking up the mic. But that’s been going on. That’s what I don’t understand. And there are probably some closeted gays out there. Some of these people that they like that are just closeted and they’ve already been doing it. But I guess just the fact that you’re out and open about it, they don’t like it.

PGN: Was it the organizations or just the readers that were giving you flack?
D: It was just the readers. I give props to AllHipHop.com and XXL to even put it out there and I think that’s even a step forward. At least they’re recognizing we’re out here. A lot of the heads might not like it but we’re out here doing it and it’s not a gimmick. It’s been our music. Hip-hop and rap, that’s our generation too, so we’re just coming forward with our lyrics, being open about it now.

PGN: Why do you think that the hip-hop community has a negative reaction to it?
D: That kind of confuses me. I think because back in the day, hip-hop wasn’t like that. It was more universal. It was for the poor and the struggling. Even Public Enemy and N.W.A. with “Fuck Tha Police” and all that stuff was about uniting in the common struggle for the poor and whoever was the underdog. But somehow, once money got involved and hip-hop became the pop music, things kind of changed. I think they were looking for someone to attack and who’s cool to attack? Gay. That’s the last group that’s cool to attack. So I think they followed what society does. It’s kind of a shame that it morphed into that. We’re about the true struggle because we’re about the only people that are openly hated.

PGN: Have you ever shared a bill with mainstream hip-hop artists?
D: I haven’t done anything with anyone big. I’ve done bills with different straight artists and I’ve even had some things go on where some of these straight rappers, as soon as it was my turn to hit the mic, some of them would turn their backs to me or walk out of the venue. That’s happened. I’ve never been attacked for my stuff. I’m waiting for the day where I can open or be on the same stage as DMX or 50 [Cent].

PGN: Is there a difference in the way audiences receive a gay hip-hop show on the West Coast than on the East Coast?
D: It’s pretty much the same reaction. It’s going to be interesting taking it out to Texas but there’s gay people everywhere. On Myspace, I see all the fan letters I get. There’s just a need for it. People are happy that there’s someone speaking to them that’s out. Before, they didn’t know it was out there and now that they know there’s an openly gay rap artist, there’s going to be a market for it.

PGN: Do you think the Homorevolution tour could someday be as big as some of the other package tours that are going around?
D: I kind of hope so but sometimes the problem is our own community just because of what the gay community has thought about hip-hop before. They thought it was homophobic and it was a little too aggressive. So sometimes it’s hard to generate a buzz in our own community. It’s taken me actually getting on CNN for our local gay papers here to step up and do a story about me. So sometimes they wait and see what the mainstream does. So that’s what we’ve been doing lately: just taking the cause to the mainstream press and just jumping over to gay press and our gay neighborhoods because they’re not understanding that gays do hip-hop too. It’s not just dance music.

PGN: Do you think it’s possible for a gay rapper, male or female, to cross over into the mainstream?
D: I think the day is going to come, but we’re going to need help from our straight peeps on that side or someone who’s down low about their stuff. But we’re going to need someone like Dr. Dre who validated Eminem, because Eminem still would be nothing if he didn’t have Dre. He still would have just been another white rapper like whatever that guy’s name was back in the day. I think [we need] someone like Dr. Dre to do some beats with us or someone like Kanye [West], who’s already spoken about stopping the gay bashing. But if Kanye, instead of talking about it, would throw us some beat or produce for us, I think the day would come.

PGN: Do you think that some of the gay people behind the scenes in the hip-hop industry have a responsibility to address the issues gay rappers are dealing with?
D: Definitely. That’s what hurts. Our own gay community is behind the scenes and I don’t know what it is, if they don’t want their shit to come out or what. We’re here. You’ve got to pull us up. Help us out. And they’re not trying to do that. We’ve got some good talent out there. Sign us. Push us. Let the public know about us and I think we’d be just as big in the market as anyone else. Even with some of the forefathers, I told Russell Simmons about myself one time when I met him. I though he was an innovator because he’s the one that started and signed a lot of the early artists. When it came to me, he just kind of frowned at me and kind of dissed me. I was like, “Oh, I thought you were trying to make hip-hop for the next generation.” He can just go on to his next fashion show. That’s where they’re at now.

PGN: It is strange that people who are freaked out about gays in hip-hop are the same ones who are so ready to jump into the fashion industry.
D: It’s ridiculous. Who knows more about fashion than gays? It’s all hypocrisy. All these rappers on their album covers, the gay guys are doing their make-up for them and styling them. It’s all about style anyway right now. It’s a joke because there are so many gay people behind the scenes that make these people who they are and then they’re dissing them on their tracks. It makes no sense. That’s why we’re doing this Homorevolution thing. We’re trying to stop the hypocrisy and wake people up.