Rapper Mykki Blanco shocked fans when he revealed his HIV Positive status in a post on his official Facebook page.
“I’ve been HIV Positive since 2011, my entire career,” Blanco wrote. “F–k stigma and hiding in the dark, this is my real life. I’m healthy I’ve toured the world 3 times but I’ve been living in the dark, it’s time to actually be as punk as I say I am.”
Blanco is known as a pioneer in the rap community as one of the few openly gay artists working today. He has previously identified himself as transgender and as a cross-dresser.
Fans voiced their support for Blanco’s admission, with one writing “Much love and respect. Silence = Death.”
Blanco most recently released the studio album “Michael” in 2015, and is known for his single “Wavvy,” which debuted in 2012.
The hip hop community’s acceptance of gay performers has been center stage of late, thanks in part to the shows like Fox’s “Empire,” which features Jussie Smollett as the gay son of a rap mogul who decides to forge his own career in music.