The 15 best safe sex anthems by queer artists & allies
“I Got AIDS” presented by Salt-N-Pepa
“I Got AIDS”—a public service announcement featured on Salt-N-Pepa’s 1993 studio album “Very Necessary”—isn’t a song. But it was a very effective message and address of the HIV/AIDS epidemic that was ravaging Black and Brown communities at staggering numbers in the late ’80s and early ’90s.
On the track, which runs around 3 minutes and 19 seconds long, Salt (Cheryl James), Pepa (Sandra Denton), and Spinderella (Deidra Roper), introduces WEATOC of Boston, Massachusetts: “A group of young people who are also involved in the fight.”
Then a theater-esque skit about pregnancy and HIV awareness begins, delving into a major message about practicing safe sex, and Salt-N-Pepa sent an even bigger message by including it on their album.
“Hold up, wait…wait, wait… You got AIDs?,” a character named Mario asks his recent sexual partner, Cathy, after thinking she was initially pregnant. Confirming, Cathy says, “I have the virus, and I don’t know what we’re gonna do.” The message being that HIV/AIDs affects everyone, not only LGBTQ people.
