I'm Gay (I'm Happy) is the fifth studio album by American rapper Lil B. The album was released digitally on June 29, 2011. On June 30, 2011, the rapper provided a free download link on his Twitter account.[1][2] The album entered the Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart at number 56 and the Heatseekers Albums chart at number 20 for the week of July 16, 2011.[3] The album's cover is an allusion to Marvin Gaye's 1976 album, I Want You.
I'm Gay (I'm Happy) received positive reviews; fans commented on the album's wide variety of positive messages and also the unique beats and lyrical styles not common to mainstream hip-hop. Lil B rapped about many controversial issues in the album including race relations, poverty, humanity and the justice system. The album, according to many fans, shows the "true" side of Lil B, many noting the album's inspirational theme. I'm Gay received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 73, based on 10 reviews.[4] Lil B was the subject of controversy because upon the album's release he decided to provide a free version via a download link on Facebook. Many believed this to be a publicity stunt; however, he cleared the controversy when on his Facebook page he posted: "for all my fans who don't have 10 dollars to buy my album, here it is for free."[14][13][7][15][16][17][18][19]
Accolades
Publications' year-end list appearances for I'm Gay (I'm Happy)
The album was initially slated to be titled simply I'm Gay, but soon after announcing such it was met with controversy, even leading to the artist to receiving death threats at one point.[21] The rapper has clarified that the title is meant to be used as the formal definition of 'gay' (merry) and as a message of support to the LGBT community. He states it simply means "I'm Happy".[22] After all the controversy and receiving death threats, he added "I'm Happy" in parentheses to the title.[citation needed]