R&B singer Mya and rapper Darryl
“DMC” McDaniels have joined the NOH8
Campaign, which raises awareness and funds for gay rights causes,
including ending California's 2008 voter-approved gay marriage ban,
Proposition 8.
The NOH8 Campaign, which is helmed by
photographer-activist Adam Bouska and his partner Jeff Parshley,
photographs celebrities and everyday folks with their mouths duct
taped and the campaign's familiar “NOH8” slogan often written on
one cheek.
In her photograph, Mya
is photographed wearing a white dress ringed by a kaleidoscope of
hands.
In a 49-second video for the group,
DMC, one of the founding members of the legendary hip-hop group
Run-DMC, calls for greater support for gay rights.
“It's my responsibility to take
advantage of the global stage I've been given,” DMC says. “And I
want to use that power to put an end to the homophobia that is
plaguing our culture. So I can achieve the same freedoms for
everybody.”
DMC also calls on fellow hip-hopers to
join him: “We've all been on the receiving end of discrimination.
Now it's our turn to stand up for what's right. No hate.” (The
video is embedded in the right panel of this page.)
The
campaign received a huge boost in January when NCIS
star Pauley Perrette wore a strapless dress that featured the NOH8
Campaign's logo to the People's Choice Awards in Los Angeles.