Openly Gay Rapper Rob.B Draws From Influences Far and Wide

Frankie Batista

On a recent cool Friday afternoon, 25-year-old Mexican-American, openly gay rapper Rob B sits in one of the many cafés peppering Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood. He's tan and toned, a 6-foot-1 part-time model who has done everything from runway to hand modeling, and today he's fitted in all-black jeans and high-top Supras, a brightly colored, Native American-meets-Bill Cosby sweater and a backwards snapback.

He pours from a bottle of sparkling water, sipping while discussing his mixtape, Meat (as in "fresh meat"), recently released gratis via Bandcamp. On the self-designed cover of the work he stands naked, his mouth agape and eyes narrowed, the top of his pubic hair exposed, his genitals covered by the horned skull he holds suggestively in his hands.

Born Robert Antonio Zumaya, he's not a bad rapper, and his music has a Drake-like emotional transparency, though his lyrics seem to be drawn more from the actual details of his life. "There are a lot of people out there with a fabricated past. [But] I don't have anything to hide," Rob says. On Meat, he raps about everything: modeling, failed relationships, the death of his mother, partying, drug use and getting money, all over beats from recently popular songs. Remixes include Frank Ocean's "Thinkin Bout You" and Rihanna's "Cake."

With lines like "If God hates fags, I'm the devil in Prada," he does a solid, oft-compelling job of balancing personal lyrics with braggadocio and comedy.

Right now we're steps from where Rob lives with his boyfriend and just down the street from where Rob tends bar on the weekend -- although they're difficult steps because he recently tore his MCL. He begins to tell his story, how he came out at an early age, growing up in San Diego with his mother (who inspired him to pursue music), his father (a painter turned narcotics distributor) and his older sister, who got him into hip-hop. And though homophobia runs rampant in his chosen genre, it doesn't seem to have affected his affinity for the music or deterred him from creating his own.

The self-anointed "homo Hova" grew up listening to rappers like Nas, Biggie, Jay-Z and Lil' Kim and has something of a dense, '90s-style flow. It takes a couple of listens before you catch each pun, simile and metaphor he packs into his verses.