The slang phrase “No Homo” began in the Hip-Hop scene of the late 1990s as a way to squash any implication that the speaker was gay. It is added to the end of a statement to dismiss any possible homosexual double-entendre. Hip-Hop musicians realized that a lyric, which is inadvertently gay, is fodder for another artist’s verbal attack on their lyrics, which almost always brings a hetero-normative viewpoint through lewd, misogynist phrases. “No Homo” is their way of denying any possibility of any sort of sexual encounter between two male artists. Ever.

Many people find “No Homo” to be offensive because it supports the notion that gay people are somehow less than straight people,  or an evocation of homophobia.

Yet, the phrase in used among gay people. It might be used by a gay man when complimenting a straight guy on his appearance, distancing the compliment from the idea that he is making a sexual advance.

No matter how you feel about the phrase, you must admit that a funny thing happened to it when The Lonely Island used it for a song. When the song was released, the group had already earned a Grammy Award nomination for their straight-up self-evident single I’m On A Boat (2009), and they won an Emmy Award for their seminal song with Justin Timberlake, Dick In A Box (2006).

Their sophomoric sophomore album Turtleneck & Chain (2010) was Number Three on the Billboard Album charts this very week in 2011. It features collaborations with Beck, Rihanna, Snoop Dogg, Nicki Minaj, and the trio’s pal Justin Timberlake. There are surprise appearances by Michael Bolton and John Waters too. And, just when it seemed impossible, the always phallic-friendly The Lost Island managed to be even gayer. The final track on the album is No Homo which, of course, reveals the total gayness of the guy using the phrase after every line.

Her are the smart, sophisticated lyrics, they are mad gay, no homo:

Hey man.

Hey.

Dude you’re looking pretty swoll, you been working out?

Uh yeah, why are you looking?

Oh no, not like that man, I mean, no homo.

Oh, no homo.

 

Cool

When you want to compliment a friend (no homo)

But you don’t want that friendship to end (no homo)

To tell a dude just how you feel (no homo)

Say ‘no homo’ so he knows the deal (no homo)

 

Hey yo man you got a fresh style (no homo)

And you know you got the best smile (no homo)

Your girlfriend is a lucky lady (no homo)

With your looks you’ll make a handsome baby (no homo)

I like the way your shoulders fill out that shirt (no homo)

It’s hard to pull off but you make it work (no homo)

Hey yo I kinda like your natural scent (no homo)

Hey yo I kinda like the musical RENT (no homo)

Man, I can’t decide who wore it best (no homo)

But I’m feeling Diane Keaton’s vest (no homo)

I admit it I’m a fashionista (no homo)

And I know every line of Mystic Pizza (no homo)

Damn this rose is something special (no homo)

Yeah, we should goof around and wrestle (no homo)

 

Let’s hit the hot tub and take a dunk (no homo)

We’re all friends ain’t no need for trunks (no homo)

Man, I’m really feeling buzzed right now (no homo)

Are you really feeling buzzed right now? (no homo)

Yo we should watch this gay porno tape (no homo)

But as a joke cause we’re all straight (no homo)

Man, you could wash laundry on those abs (no homo)

Yo I think girls look good in drag (no homo)

Hey I’ve been thinking about posing nude (no homo)

Yo I’ve been thinking about fucking a dude (no homo)

We could 3-way 69 (no homo)

Or human centipede in a line (no homo)

Or some docking could be hella fun (no homo)

Oh yeah man, or I could do this one (no homo)

Hey yo no homo but I wanna dress up like Dorothy

and butt fuck a dude while he 69s Morrissey

No homo but I wish I lived in Ancient Greece

To gave young Socrates the illful release

Hey yo no homo but today I’m coming out the closet

Wanna scream it from the mountains like a gay prophet

These two words have set me free (no homo)

Damn it feels good to be (no homo)

Not gay enough? How about 3-Way (The Golden Rule) The Lonely Island’s Emmy nominated R&B tune that made its debut on the May 21, 2011 episode of Saturday Night Live (SNL), where they were joined by Timberlake and Lady Gaga who were host and musical guest, respectively.

The Lonely Island is: cutie-pie Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone. Last year, they had the sublimely silly musical film Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping directed by Schaffer and Taccone, written by Samberg, and produced by Judd Apatow. It co-stars the fabulous Sarah Silverman, Joan Cusack, and Maya Rudolph, with cameos by everyone in showbiz. It was a bomb at the box-office, but if you smoke a bowl, it makes a good cuddle movie with some dude off Grindr (no homo).