Singer/ Songwriters Burning Down the Closet

JASON & DEMARCO - "THIS IS LOVE"

The duo Jason & deMarco know all about how difficult it is to reconcile religion and sexuality. The openly gay couple are also openly Christian, but refuse to be pigeonholed. "Our music has a message, and if I had to call it anything, it would be ’uplifting.’ We want it to speak to everyone, not only people of one particular faith.” There’s no denying where their feelings lie in their unabashedly romantic song “This is Love. ”

When I see you,
In a moment, everything around us falls away
And all I see is you, all I see is you
and I feel you

Right beside me
And everything familiar now feels new
Whenever I’m with you.
This is love.

Reading the lyrics, it may seem simple, even bland. But when you hear it, and realize that it’s two men singing to each other, it becomes so much more. Call it vanilla, with a twist.

Rating: Quality - 3, Outness - 5, Groundbreaking - 4

Final Score: 4

ADAM JOSEPH - "FAGGOTY ATTENTION"

As this is a music “revolution,” we have to be willing to take the good with the bad…or inexplicable….as in the case of Adam Joseph’s “Faggoty Attention,” which is as blatant and in-your-face as a gay pop song about seducing straight guys can be.

I want to give you my
Faggoty attention
Baby that’ll make you feel right
With my faggoty attention
Baby all I need is tonight
I’ll change your life
And I won’t ask, won’t tell
Promise you won’t go to hell
Tonight
We’ll go back to Brooklyn, get it cooking
Don’t you worry no one’s looking

There are two ways you can look at this song. Either as a send-up of all the sexist braggadocio in pop and hip hop, in which case it’s nearly perfect, or you can cringe and wonder what the reaction would be if it was a straight man perpetuating these gay stereotypes.

Rating: Quality - 1, Outness - 5, Groundbreaking - 2

Final Score: 2.6