Macklemore X Ryan Lewis – “Same Love” ft. Mary Lambert
When musicians stand up for what they believe in through their art, it empowers themselves as well as their followers. After Macklemore and Ryan Lewis announced earlier this week that their debut studio album, The Heist, would be released October 9th as well as their worldwide tour dates, the rapper/producer duo have released another hip hop record of the year candidate. As a part of Music for Marriage Equality campaign, they’ve created a flawless, touching, and personal track with help from Mary Lambert’s beautiful voice on the hook. Listen and be amazed. You’ll listen over and over and over again. Read what Macklemore had to say about the record below.
This song, which I wrote in April, is a response to what I have observed and experienced, and is also an act of personal accountability. It was not easy to write, and I struggled with how I, as a straight male, could genuinely speak upon this issue. Initially, I tried writing from the perspective of a gay, bullied kid, but after getting some feedback, I felt it wasn’t my story to tell. What I do know, and where I wrote from, is my own perspective growing up in a culture where “that’s gay” was commonplace, with a huge stigma on those who identified and were perceived as gay…Unfortunately, intolerance of the gay community in hip hop is widespread. The best rappers will use homophobic language on albums that critics rave about, making hip hop and homophobia inextricably linked. We have sidestepped the issue entirely, become numb to the language that we use, and are increasingly blinded to our own prejudice.
This is important.