 2008-10-27 - hiding
I was interested in this book because I wanted to know who was gay. I wanted to know the gossip of the stars. Although I was dissappointed because I could not figure out who half of the people were he was referring to in the book based on the description he gave, I still think this was a good book and an eye opener for people who dont know about the downlow epidemic. The book also educates women on the reality of this epidemic. It also shows that even hollywood entertainers and hip hop artist struggle with their sexuality.
 2008-10-24 - This book tells you about men in high position on the down low
I can't believe that there are so many black famous men on the down low that act so hard, but soft like butter lol.
2008-10-03 - Good book, too secretive, though
unfortunately for someone looking for "dirt" this book may be a disappointing "read", and for someone like me, it really was'nt a "surprise" having worked in regional theater, but it can still be an eye-opener for someone who is'nt knowledgable about the "down low"
 2008-09-25 - This Hot and Cold Hip Hop Life
Whew!! Just finished the book. I loved it and hated it--just like Terrance felt about the gay or down-low life. On one page he can't wait to get his hands on a guy, and on the next page he's self loathing in agony. One moment he's praising God and attending church, and on the next page he's drinking and doing drugs like there's no tomorrow. In one chapter he can't stand his mother and resents her, and then when she dies he's devastated. I couldn't keep up with him. An emotional roller coaster, if such was even the case. I think this book was written to be dramatical. I've never read about a guy that would supposedly get sick to his stomach when going into a gay bar--but then half an hour later was taking the best looking guy in the place home with him. Fortunately, he FINALLY in the last pages comes to terms with his homosexuality, admits it, and goes happily into the sunset.
He also makes it seem like the music industry and in particular the hip hop world is FULL of down-low men, which could be true, I do not know. There seems to be a lot of stepping over the sexual boundaries these days. I don't see how he got any work done, but I also don't see how all these supposed down-low guys were able to stay so down-low if they were always going to parties. Wouldn't somebody talk or spill the beans somewhere along the way?? I think he told it all the way he wanted to tell it. Which is more than anyone else has done---so I really did like the book. It excited me with all his conquests, just wished it had been a little bit meatier. But then they all wouldn't be down-low. And with all that sex, he never once mentioned getting a STD which you know HAD to have happened. Terrance never did say whether he enjoyed it all, but I think he did. His will power was pretty non existant, bless his heart.
2008-09-21 - The Down Low Manifesto!
Hiding In Hip Hop: On The Down Low In The Entertainment Industry-From Music To Hollywood is one of several books published within the last several years about being black , gay, closeted in an environment that is hostile towards openly gay men. Closeted masculine black gay, bisexual and straight identified black men who have sex with other men is referred to as Down Low.
The marketing ploy with this autobiography is to name celebrities in the entertainment industry who are Down Low. Anyone who is familiar with Hip Hop; The Culture, Celebrities and The History, will be able to identify some of the people described. Terrance Dean do not give the real name of any down low celebrities. He do describe in titillating detail his sexual experiences with other down low men, some of who are, or were, Hip Hop Celebrities. In depth and plenty of details, Dean describe the Down Low lifestyle and the types of Men whom inhabit such a lifestyle such as a thuggish Hip Hop rappers who bottom in bed. Dean write about rappers, actors, and comedians who like to hang out and have sex with Drag Queens too.
So well written is Hiding In Hip Hop... at times I can almost feel Dean self hatred ooze off the page. Terrence Dean is the oldest of five children. Dean was raised by his grandmother, Grandma Pearl, with unconditional love and support but his mother was a heroin addict and a prostitute who, along with two of his brothers, died from AIDS. Dean was molested as a child and spent eight months incarcerated for auto theft. But instead of writing a Down Low Torch Song, this autobiography is about reclaiming your self mentally and spiritually by helping others. Despite his down trodden circumstances, Dean struggled to earn a college degree and get employment in the entertainment industry. After having a break down, Dean founded a successful black men empowerment organization and eventually cease to hate himself and others for being gay.
Black men are not the only men who are on the Down Low in the entertainment industry. In Hollywood, the white equivalent of the Down Low is the Velvet Mafia. The Velvet Mafia is a successful and powerful group of usually married gay and bisexual white male Hollywood agents, producers, directors actors and other industry insiders who are publicly straight identified. Also, Dean book is similar in theme with another recently published biography,My Life in Porn: The Bobby Blake Story. Both autobiographies deal with masculine black gay men in the entertainment industry and their struggle to coincide their race and sexuality with their spirituality. Hiding In Hip Hop: On The Down Low In The Entertainment Industry-From Music To Hollywood is one of the best written and insightful autobiography I have read.
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