Syd the Kyd Could Be Hip-Hop's Next Lesbian Icon
2.13.2012
By Adam Rathe
Photography by Darren Ankenman
Green laser lights shoot across the wall as ice cubes melt in the chamber of a bong sitting on the coffee table. The living room of Syd the Kyd’s spacious Marina del Rey apartment is crammed with a drum set, a guitar, and a small fortune’s worth of computer equipment. A menorah rests on a table next to an enormous flat-screen sprouting video game controllers. Syd says she almost never goes beyond a two-block radius of her home. No wonder.
Syd makes beats for Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, the controversial and incredibly popular hip-hop collective -- boasting at least 10 members -- fronted by firecracker provocateur Tyler, The Creator and known by fans and foes alike as Odd Future. She’s also half of The Internet, a side project whose debut album -- the gentle, funky Purple Naked Ladies -- was released in January. It features Syd’s light, soulful voice addressing female love interests in a few songs.
Syd’s the 19-year-old whiz who started mixing songs for Odd Future while she still lived with her parents. She’s been an integral part of the group from its rise to fame and the harsh spotlight cast on it thanks to Tyler’s larger-than-life persona (and subsequent media profile) and his lyrics, which are widely reviled for being misogynistic, homophobic, and irresponsible. To some, he’s a bully spitting hateful verses; to others, he’s a firebrand in the vein of Johnny Rotten, looking to make listeners uncomfortable. But being a member of Odd Future and a lesbian doesn’t strike Syd as conflicting.
“Most of the homos I know use homophobic slurs, and it’s never a problem unless someone who’s not a part of the group is using the word,” Syd says. “But a lot of people take things out of context, and you’ve got to understand that there is a difference between saying, ‘Hey, you faggot’ and 'Hey, faggot.' When Tyler says 'faggot,' he's not referring to gays, he's referring to lame people. And in our vocabulary, that's what the word 'faggot' means. I'm not offended by the word 'faggot' -- and I am one."
Talking over lunch at an In-N-Out Burger near her apartment, Syd says that Odd Future’s reputation for being hateful comes from people taking the group too seriously.
“I look at it like most people do when you hear something outrageous. You go, ‘Aw, that was fucked up,’ ” she says. “And then you hear it again, and it’s like, ‘That’s really fucked up.’ And then you hear it so many times you just start laughing, like, ‘That is so fucked up!’ But it’s hilarious, and that’s when you start to take life a little less seriously.”
Odd Future’s mission, according to Syd, isn’t just to play its famously raucous live shows, or to laugh all the way to the bank, thanks to album royalties and branded collaborations—like a show on Adult Swim or its L.A. pop-up shop selling the group’s merch, clothes from its fashion line, and skateboarding gear. The job of the group, says Syd, a slight stunner in a worn tank top and an Odd Future windbreaker who’s quick to smile but wary of making eye contact, is to be truth-tellers.
“We’re just a group of kids who make mistakes,” she says, “and rather than lying about them, we use the truth to tell other people, people our age, ‘Know that you’re gonna make mistakes. Shit isn’t gonna be perfect. If you need to scream at somebody, do it and apologize later.’ We try to be as honest as possible.”
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The stupidity and close-mindedness of almost everyone who has commented here blows me away. I will not say anything too awful because i know that all i will get back is negativity. Syd is an inspiration, and until you people get those sticks out of your ass's, you will never see or understand this. However by me saying this it will most likely only shove them up farther, have fun with pulling those splinters out for the rest of your life.
the fact is they know f-word (i can't even say it it sounds so disgusting and disgraceful to me) is an EXTREMELY offensive word... I could use the n-word right now. It's anonymous. why not? And say... "there is a difference... I'm not saying I hate black people.. I MEAN just stupid people" WHICH IS EVEN WORSE. how. fucking. stupid. do you have to be. to promote this girl in the sense of her using this word. I'm not saying she's a total bitch but my goodness... be aware of meanings and don't try to just change the word... The roots still hurt... and the roots matter the most. Don't be dense. Be positive. Fuck.
The fact of the matter is your looking at this from a defensive perspective rather than a neutral one. None of the members of Odd Future are saying that they hate gay people or hate any race or classification they are merely just trying to say... Sup faggots. Jeeez lighten up happy people (see what i did there ey ey)
im not a girl. im not gay. so of course i'll never understand how those words affect gay people, i dont use them cause i do find them disrespectful. but everyone here is calling syd dumb and stupid .. why ? because she chooses to be herself. i dont think she cares if people like her or not shes talented. shes not just the beat maker for odd future, shes a great singer. her album purple naked women is unexplainable every song on there is amazing. who cares how she acts thats not what should matter,its what shes producing that should and shes producing amazing music. shes herself. you dont like her thats on you but dont insult her intellegence. because shes not dumb. and it doesnt matter if your a gay guy or if your a gay women. society doesnt care if they dont like gays both genders get attacked so dont say syd doesnt know how it feels to be a gay male. it doesnt matter she knows how it feels to be gay and to have people judge her just like millions of gay people. to me i see no difference between someone whos gay and someone whos straight but we all know not everyones like that. so syd those know how it feels to be judged and harrassed. as for odd future using the word faggot, just simply dont listen to them thats all they're still gonna be producing music they're still gonna be making money regardless of how people feel so whats the point in getting mad ? if your gay someone saying faggots in they're song should be the least of your worries people get killed for being gay and you guys are worried about a person saying faggots in a song. everyone who said syd is stupid reevaluate yourself. syds part of off future shes the key element so why would they hate gays if the person they need most to keep the group going is gay ? everyone that called her stupid reevaluate yourself cause maybe your the stupid one.
first of all, males have it easier in this society, gay or straight, with that they are systematically offered more access to economic resources. don't be fooled by america turning a blind eye to a few lesbian songs; true freedom comes in access, it is not superficial, but deep enough to unwind all of your desires. and let us not forget that behind the scenes, hollywood is booming with gays (writers, producers, etc.), and even in front of the camera, less famous women have come out as lesbian than famous men as gay.
second of all, an interview can never give you the full picture of someone. she has her lessons, like we all do. and don't trip, money will have you forget your direction quick, especially when mixed with fame and blinding youth.
good energy to her, and all of you.
(( peace&love ))
As if completely taking the word out of context enough and serving up some derailing, apologetic bullshit, she goes even further by saying that Tyler isn't referring to gay people, but "lame" people, putting the ableist topping on this poison sundae of shit and ignorance.
Spoken like a TRUE LAME!!!
Since when is "faggot" a slur used against lesbians? It's a slur against gay men - but she's going to decide to give a pass to homophobic straight arseholes to use it against us
Nice selling out there, Syd. Next time give them opermission to use a slur that's used against YOU
stupid
lame
Females have it easier than males when it comes to acceptance of homosexuality. Women can sing I Kissed A Girl and have a number 1 hit. When is a man going to be able to sing I Kissed A Boy and have a number 1 hit?
Syd is a female. She knows nothing about male sexuality. Male homosexuals have always had it harder than female homosexuals. She's in no position to judge the use of the word "fag". Buzz off, Syd.
stupid people say stupid things. the end.
The only thing that offends me about this is that this silly child is being taken seriously by people who ought to know better. She clearly has talent for making beats but all the interviews I've seen of her or blog posts I've read on her own blog reveal her for what she is, a very young woman who isn't particularly smart or cogent about what comes out of her mouth. Which should not surprise anyone. In the music industry as in any other there are some smart people and some not-so-smart people. Painting, economics, blogging, you name it, in every industry there are people who are doing interesting things despite lacking cultural intelligence. It's not required to make good music so we shouldn't let this bother us -- but why persist in interviewing someone who doesn't have anything coherent to say? Would you interview a damn whale if there was a whale songs album in the charts?
How ironic, the majority of you posting here, represent what a "faggot" is from their perspective, perfectly. Keep up the good work, you will only be a victim with such an out-dated mind-set.
What "out-dated mind-set" are you talking about? How stupid are you to not realize that the LGBT community are still victims of homophobia? How stupid are you to not realize that using the word faggot to mean "a stupid or lame person" perpetuates that homophobia? You are really dumb.
I love how offended all of you are.
If you had any smarts, you'd be offended too.
The only reason your offended is because your not using your smarts. Please, just look at it from a different perspective. Otherwise i will continue with what i should have said. You are a faggot. Not the homophobic term. I'm saying your just an asshole, someone i wouldn't hang around with, and do you know why? Your close-minded, and do you know what that makes you? A faggot
Syd? Oh Shes My Favorite Fag' & I Am A Fag' :D
I don't know what's worse. The posturing to defend 'hood ignorance or the horrible horrible writing and grammar. Someone gets paid for this unresearched, unedited poo?
OUT, you were a joke in the 90's when you covered nothing but the White Party and Melissa Etheridge. You've moved up, but to a bad rip-off of Gawker.
My favorite part was where she said "their vocabulary pushes the limit." It's easy to use the term "faggot" or "gay" to mean "lame" or "stupid" when nearly everyone does it. Doing what everyone else is doing is NOT pushing the limit. It's just being like everyone else. They want to push the limit? Find another way to say what they're saying. It's insulting to artists like Andre 3000 or Eminem who actually manipulate words to make a point. They're acting more like shock artists who'll say or do anything for the attention without having any real meaning. It would've been interesting to see their responses if a gay man had called them out instead of Tegan & Sara. I wonder how "inactively homophobic" they would have been.
The funniest comment I read was Syd saying "their vocabulary pushes the limit." It's easy to use thw terms "faggot" and "gay" to mean stupid because nearly everyone does it. You wanna push the limits of your vocab? Find a new way to say those things. They're acting like nothing but shock artists who don't actually care about making a certain statement, instead just wanting to make ANY statement so someone will talk about them. It's insulting to artists like 3000 who do push their vocab.
Just wanted to let you know that I am through with OUT magazine. Between highlighting homophobic self haters in this article and naming Ken Mehlman as a top person of the year, I will not be renewing my subscription or visiting this site any longer. To promote self hating gay people that do everything they can to keep gay people as second class citizens, you do us all a disservice. OUT used to be a voice to and of gay people, now you just show your love money only and a lack of respect.
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