While some praise the Grammy Award-winning rapper for his support to trans community, others criticize him for misgendering his relatives and his use of homophobic slur in the track.

• May 14, 2022

AceShowbiz - Kendrick Lamar has received some love and hate for voicing his support to trans community. The Grammy Award-winning artist has divided fans after he raps about his transgender relatives in the track "Auntie Diaries" from new album "Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers".

In the song, the Compton native starts by rapping, "My auntie is a man now." He then addresses his uncle's transition, "My auntie became a man and I took pride in it/ She wasn't gay, she ate p***y, and that was the difference."

In another part of the track, Kendrick says that he "grew accustomed" to his uncle's transition as a young person. "My auntie was a man now, we cool with it," he continues showing his support for his transgender uncle.

When addressing his transgender cousin, the 34-year-old raps, "My favorite cousin said he's returning the favor/ And following my auntie with the same behavior." Revealing that his cousin has changed her name from "Demetrius" to "Mary-Ann," he adds, "I mean he's really Mary-Ann, even took things further. Changed his gender before Bruce Jenner was certain. Living his truth even if it meant see a surgeon."

Some people have praised Kendrick for showing his support to trans community, with one tweeting, "Auntie Diaries is the first song in major support of the trans community from a rap artist as big as Kendrick and I can't voice how happy I am for it."

Another raved, "Yo 'Auntie Diaries' could be some REAL barrier-breaking stuff in hip-hop. Kendrick talking openly about his aunt and cousin transitioning and "choosing humanity over religion." A third called it "powerful."

Agreeing, a fourth Twitter user wrote, "We are not about to 'cancel' Kendrick over Auntie Diaries. The most powerful man in hip-hop wrote a whole song supporting trans rights and acknowledging the homophobia he participated in. In a genre that has a history of homophobia, this moves the convo in the right direction."

Some others, however, took issue with misgendering his relatives and his use of homophobic slur, calling it "transphobic" and "selfish" of Kendrick to center himself in a story about his trans relatives while repeatedly using incorrect pronouns and a slur.

One of those who have mixed feelings about the song was Preston Mitchum, director of advocacy and governmental affairs at the Trevor Project, a nonprofit that works to prevent suicide among LGBTQ young people. He tweeted, "I'm thankful he spoke in favor of love & acceptance of trans sibs -- even after admitting what society did to them first. The [slur] threw me off because it isn't his word to use. But that's his point at the end."

Another rhetorically asked, "So the discourse today if *look over' non queer people are allowed to use slurs directed towards queer people if it's dealing with art?" A third critic pointed out, "Kendrick Lamar can show his support for the lgbtq community and his trans relative without saying slut thx." Someone else said, "kendrick lamar saying the f slur and being homophobic and transphobic is just another reason why I rarely listen to male artists."