Since the release of rapper Murs 'Animal Style' video, the net is abuzz over speculation as to whether Murs is gay or not. If you haven't seen the music video, Murs tells the story of two men in love and at the end of the video, he kisses another man on the mouth. Murs who is married to a woman, explains his intent behind his video to Out.
From Out.
You wrote on the YouTube page for the video that you felt it was important to show that same-sex love wasn't that different from “the love I have for my partner of the opposite sex,” which seems pretty profound for someone in the hip-hop community to put out there. What was the process that you went through when discussing, scripting, filming the video?More at Out.
The reaction is kind of strange. I don’t really read the comments, and I would never look to some of these media outlets for approval. My main concern is with the LGBT community, that they have responded favorably. Being a straight male, and stepping into that role, I was nervous about the reaction from the gay community.
But the way straight people have reacted? I could really care less. Oh and how my wife would react. That matters.
Oh, how did your wife handle it?
She’s all for it. Her grandmother is gay, or was: She just passed. It was really important to her; we have friends and family that are gay, so it was important to make a statement. You know, it’s cool to be liberal and say people should be able to do what they want to do. But then when your husband is in a video on the Internet kissing another man. That’s different.
So were you nervous how she would react to it?
I was nervous. She seemed open-minded, but she could freak out about it. The guy in the video is her personal trainer, Armando. He’s a boxer. We were friends, and we both trained at the same gym. He heard the song, and he was comfortable with it. But I wanted to make sure, you know, I said, ‘I don’t want to assume that you want to kiss me. You could find me completely unattractive.’
After hearing his story, of him being gay, and as a boxer, being in this very macho sport, in a small town in Arizona, and what he had to deal with... He was happy to do it. He said his boyfriend saw the video and cried. I just thought, I didn’t think it could be such a rewarding experience that way.
Anywhere along the way you were like, wait, maybe this is too intense? Maybe I don’t want to do that?
I felt like I had to do this. I had to commit. My goal was to, as a rapper, to bring some legitimacy to the art form. You know, Straight Outta Compton was jarring, because America didn’t want to see or hear these things. Now it’s been sensationalized, and now it’s the status quo. Public Enemy said some jarring things initially, too. But no one is using rap as a vehicle to shake things up. I initially wanted to play the other character.
The one that Armando plays?
Yeah, but I thought that could be more offensive. As it got closer, I thought, I don’t think I could do it. I don’t think I could make it believable.
Then the producer said, “Why don’t you just play the other guy.” I hadn’t thought of that. I didn’t think it was going to be difficult. But as it got closer, I thought, “Holy shit, I’m going to have to kiss a man.” It wasn’t Mondo, we were friends, but I was nervous about making it believable.
So where was it shot, some place in Los Angeles?
It’s all filmed in Tucson, that’s where I live now.
But isn’t Arizona considered pretty conservative? Why live there?
Tucson is probably the Berkeley or Austin of Arizona. The rest of Arizona is very anti-Obama. The only thing they are pro, is pro-Jesus and pro-gun. But I just always liked the people here [in Tucson]. I grew up in L.A. and everyone is always networking all the time. People here just wake up, go to work, and go home. They drink a lot of Bud Light. I grew up with people who were going to be actors, or legitimate drug dealers or legitimate killers. Here people are living and enjoying life.
That scene where you pull out a gun and shoot the young man in the face is pretty intense. There's a long history of gay characters being depicted in popular entertainment, as long as they die at the end, to sort of pay for their sins. Did you think about how that shooting would play out to a gay audience?
I guess the idea is that he hated himself, so he hated his [boyfriend]. He loved him so much, he didn’t want to live with all the bullshit they were going through. That idea that you love someone so much, and if you can’t live in this society comfortably, that you wouldn’t want to live in this life.
I try to not go too deep about it in my personal life because there are people in my personal life who haven’t come out. I can tell the strain they are in when I see them at gatherings. I can tell how horrible it has made them feel. Some of them have picked up a lot of bad habits. You know, it’s like when you eat more than you should or drink more than you should because you are dealing with issues.
But some people seem to think that scene is just shocking or exploitative. Was the intention to show how bullying and violence are actually taking place in many schools and in tense environments?
It might be sensational or extreme, but I think it’s horrible to live on a planet where people feel so bad about themselves they think about killing for nothing other than being themselves. I don’t think it’s a common or everyday occurence. But I think the feeling that you want to do that can be common among gay teens. Especially in hip-hop.
