I first came across this UK artist toby back in February via instagram (I’m a sucker for a cute-boy muso) as he was releasing a very cool track called ‘Hazy Sunday’, which was said to be part of a three-track release he had in the works titled ‘BOY LOVE TAPE’.
toby is back this week with another awesome little tune called ‘Don’t Be Gay’ which is the third & final chapter of his ‘BOY LOVE TAPE’ collection, and it also comes with a few personal words from the man on this particular song;
“Growing up in here in the UK, through my childhood, schooling and even becoming a young adult, my life was was littered with phrases like (you guessed it) “don’t be gay” and “errr man thats so gay”. Even I, myself (shamefully), have used such phrases, to fit in, to hide, to make others laugh. But perhaps not as much as others, because deep down there was a part of me, that knew that this thing everyone was saying not to be, WAS me.
When I grew to be comfortable with myself, older and perhaps wiser (some may disagree), I began to reflect upon this and how F***ked up it is. And so this song was born.
Some may argue that its just words and that people “don’t mean it in that way”. But words are powerful and have consequences. I know that sometimes when people use the phrase they don’t mean that gay people are bad! Heck, “they’ve got loads of gay mates”. But what MUST be understood is: that by making such negative connotations with the the word ‘gay’, you make a dangerous connection that causes much hurt, pain and sorrow for lots of young people, causing them to question themselves and their whole way of being, causing them to hide their feelings and who they are. Something that is not so easily shaken off, when it is ingrained over young persons lifetime. The first time someone said to me that I was gay in a negative way, I can’t have been more than 8 years old. It was news to me at the time! That evening I cried to my Nan, Sheila, (LEGEND) and I didn’t want to go back to school.
HOW AN EARTH DOES AN 8 YEAR OLD LEARN THAT KINDA LANGUAGE???? And learn to use it to denigrate others?
There’s plenty of other wonderful words in our language to describe your distaste and disgust for something…feel free to message me and, for a small fee, I will be happy to provide you with some.
To finish I’ll quote myself (the ego of it), “to you its just a turn of phrase, but I am afraid it was the way I was made!”
Love (in any which way it comes), Toby x”
You can stream all three ‘BOY LOVE TAPE’ tracks now via toby’s Soundcloud, and be sure to hit him up on the below to tell him how much you’re loving him his tunes.
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