Joseph Thomas Lee, better known by his stage name Deadlee, is an American
rapper
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
and songwriter. He is based in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
descent, and launched his career in 2000. In 2002, he released his critically acclaimed first album ''7 Deadlee Sins''.Assault With A Deadlee Weapon ", ''CDBaby.com''. Retrieved on 28 February 2009 The follow-up album, ''Assault With a Deadlee Weapon'', was released in late 2006.
Deadlee is known for his lyrics, which tackle subjects such as
race
Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to:
* Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species
* Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
, class, sexuality and police brutality. On July 15, 2013, he changed his name to Joseph Thomas LeMar when he married his partner. The name is the combination of his last name and Martinez, the last name of his partner.
Career
2000–2005: ''7 Deadlee Sins''
Deadlee launched his career in 2000. In 2002, he released his first album ''7 Deadlee Sins''. A blend of hip hop and thrash rock, his lyrics tackled subjects like
race
Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to:
* Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species
* Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
, class, sexuality and police brutality. The album became one of the first albums produced during the underground musical movement, " homo hop", which started in the early 2000s. He performed at a variety of music festivals including the "Peace Out Festival" in
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
, "Peace Out East" in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, and "HomoAGoGo" in
Olympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region.
Europea ...
. The mainstream
gay community
The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a common culture and ...
did not accept his confrontational style during his first few years in the music industry. The "Long Beach Gay and Lesbian Pride Festival" grew larger and even restricted him from performing at the festival. As he became more synonymous with the growing homo hop scene, the LGBT community eventually accepted him and his music. Deadlee later performed at the "Los Angeles Latin Gay Pride Festival", the annual Christopher Street "West Los Angeles Pride" festival in
West Hollywood
West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most prominent gay villages ...
After being involved in several motion picture soundtracks and documentaries, Deadlee released his second album in 2004, ''Assault With a Deadlee Weapon''. Fueled with retaliatory attacks on rap and hip-hop's alleged homophobes such as Eminem, DMX and 50 Cent, the lyrics deal with LGBT issues and hardships that are recurring. ''Assault With a Deadlee Weapon'' has heavier production and a lot of support from fellow rappers and artists such as Johnny Dangerous, Tori Fixx, Salvi-Mex, Dutchboy, Barnes, Drastiko and
Clint Catalyst
Clint Catalyst (born April 8, 1971) is the nom de plumeMTV-owned network
LOGO
A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wo ...
. To support ''Assault With a Deadlee Weapon'', Deadlee toured with a number of other LGBT rappers on the "Homo Revolution" tour, managed by Camilo Arenivar.
In June 2009, Deadlee made four appearances in the prestigious Fresh Meat Festival, a ''trés moderne'' variety show spotlighting the cream of LGBT performers. He began with an angry spoken word piece written during a college tour, and moved into two classic Deadlee 2213 songs, the dance anthem "Nasty" and "Carnival in My Mind". Deadlee was acclaimed as both riveting and ferocious, surprising and astonishing the audience and proving himself a superb performer, able to bring the goods in any venue, gay or otherwise.
2012–Present: Turn to acting
Deadlee has made serious inroads into the movie industry as an actor, appearing in several films including the 'hood comedies, ''Hoochie Mamma Drama'' and ''Getting High In The Barrio''. He also made an appearance as a homeless junkie in the
Bruce LaBruce
Bruce LaBruce (born January 3, 1964) is a Canadian artist, writer, filmmaker, photographer, and underground director based in Toronto.
Life and career
LaBruce was born in Tiverton, Ontario. He has claimed both Justin Stewart and Bryan Bruce as ...
zombie thriller, ''
L.A. Zombie
''L.A. Zombie'' is a 2010 gay zombie porn film written and directed by Bruce LaBruce. It premiered in competition at Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland in 2010. The film exists in two versions, a 63-minute cut version showcased a ...
'', and as Pharmacy Punk in ''
RAMPART
Rampart may refer to:
* Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement
Rampart may also refer to:
* "O'er the Ramparts We Watched" is a key line from "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the ...
''. He starred in Los Angeles' longest running play ''Eavesdropper''.
Public reception
He received considerable press coverage with articles or reviews in the now defunct ''QV'' magazine, '' LA Weekly'', '' The Advocate'', ''Frontiers'' magazine and '' URB''. In 2007, Deadlee was the subject of mainstream entertainment news, with publications like ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' and
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
, after he announced a spring tour called "HomoRevolution Tour 2007" and attacked Eminem, DMX, and 50 Cent as "
homophobic
Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, m ...
". The tour was reported in the British ''Guardian'' newspaper and Deadlee appeared on ''
The Tyra Banks Show
''The Tyra Banks Show'', also known as and shortened to ''Tyra'' or ''The Tyra Show'', was an American talk show hosted by Tyra Banks that aired from 2005 to 2010.
While Banks's show covered a variety of topics, there was a sensationalized focus ...
'' with Tori Fixx and Foxxjazell.Tyra Banks at Warner Bros. – Show Recap . ''WarnerBros.com''
Despite his notoriety as a controversial gay rapper, Deadlee has also contributed music to '' On the Downlow'', directed by Tadeo Garcia, and ''Vengeance'', directed by Daniel Zirilli. Both movies include songs from ''Assault with a Deadlee Weapon''. Deadlee demonstrated his acting skills in Zirilli's gangbanger drama. He is member of the
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...
. In 2006, he made film festival appearances in support of the homohop documentary, ''Pick Up the Mic'', in which he appears. He also appears on the LOGO network's documentary series, ''Hip Hop Homos''.