Released 1996 (1996) Genre Neo soul Label Maverick | Format 12", CD, cassette Length 6:08 | |
B-side "Deuteronomy: Niggerman" | ||
"Leviticus: Faggot" is a song written and performed by Meshell Ndegeocello, issued as the second single from her second studio album Peace Beyond Passion. The song peaked at #15 on the Billboard dance chart.
Contents
Music video
The official music video for the song was directed by Kevin Bray. The beginning of the video depicts a young man who is thrown out of his house for being gay, and the video concludes with the man committing suicide.
Controversy
Because of the subject matter, the use of the word "faggot" being used so prominently in the song, and presumably the same-sex relations depicted in the video, many music video stations refused to air it without edits. The Box aired the video in its entirety, while MTV aired it but omitted a clip of the male protagonist showing the razor blade he later used to commit suicide. BET would not air the video at all, with then-music director Gregg Diggs stating that the network's decision not to air it was strictly because of the use of the word "faggot" and not because of "anything sexual". Ndegeocello declared Diggs' explanation "a crock of bull" and further stated that networks that edited the video or did not air the video missed the point that the song and video were making.