Artists like Santana are challenging what it means to be a rapper and rethreading the fabric of rap. The “Walk” rapper told Teen Vogue that for a while he rejected the idea of being a gay rapper because he didn’t want to be trapped in a box. But as time went on, he said he realized he can write his own rules without neglecting a big part of who he is.

“Before, I didn’t want to be labeled a gay rapper,” he said, according to Teen Vogue. “Then, in the middle of my career, I started to embrace it because I just felt like it was helpful to my culture and to my people.”

When Santana first started out, he was hyperfocused on being accepted by “straight people,” according to HotNewHipHop. Now, he realizes that with his acceptance of being a “gay rapper,” he’s showing love to the community that he’s “fighting for.”

“I initially was so big on being accepted by the straight people that I didn’t wanna be known as a ‘gay rapper,'” he said, HotNewHipHop reports. “Now I don’t mind someone calling me a gay rapper or a LGBT rapper because that is my community. That is my culture. And that is who I’m fighting for. I used to get offended about being called a gay rapper because I didn’t wanna feel like my music was boxed. I’ve proven even with me being gay, that my music touches everybody.”

He also noted that he isn’t the only one changing the face of rap today. The “Here We Go” emcee told Teen Vogue that he admires Lil Nas X for his efforts to change the industry.

“I was so proud of Lil Nas when I was looking at his nominations and stuff. He’s in Best Male Artist [People’s Choice Awards 2021] with straight men,” he said, Teen Vogue reports.

The “Panini” rapper, like Santana, also isn’t afraid to use his voice to speak out on the homophobia in rap and hip-hop. As Blavity previously reported, Lil Nas X recently put BET on blast for not recognizing his music at the upcoming BET Awards. He took to Twitter to talk about his lack of nominations and what it says about Black culture today.

“Thank you bet awards. an outstanding zero nominations again. black excellence!” he wrote in a since-deleted tweet.

Santana, 28, is also defining what it means to be a “Material Girl.”

“Being a material girl is being a boss, handling your business, being a hustler, having good credit, taking care of your kids, making sure your bills are paid,” he told Teen Vogue.

The rapper said that the song is being sung by “kids, men, women, grandmas, aunties, uncles and granddaddies,” because his “music touches and inspires everyone,” HotNewHipHop reports.

Santana has also reached a level of success and is basking in superstardom.

“When I walk into rooms, I have male fans who really want to scream louder than the women, want to call their daughters on FaceTime, want to call their wives and their family members, like, ‘Oh, I’m with Santana!'” he told Teen Vogue.