On Oct 2. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis released a new music video called “Same Love” with singer Mary Lambert. Fans of the Seattle-based artist nationally agree that what the duo launched was more than just another music video, but a powerful message for change.
Well-known for his iconic hip-hop songs “And We Danced” and “Can’t Hold Us”, Macklemore takes a deeper turn in his music in his song “Same Love” and expresses his perceptions in a way that everyone can relate to.
Original and honest in his depiction of same-sex couples, Macklemore steps away from overused perceptions of a bullied gay teenager and instead explores his “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.”
Loving the aesthetic features of the video’s photography, Carol Prince also appreciates Macklemore’s ability to “tell a story” that is under represented in marriage equality ads and in shows.
The video starts off with the soft hum of a piano and then a light chorus of bells. Without all the misconceptions and stereotypes often paired with gay relationships, viewers are then taken through the milestones and tribulations of a gay man’s life.
Throughout his childhood, he questions his sexuality and compares himself to the preconceived ideas of what being gay is or should be. Often used in negative connotations and insults, he is ashamed and worried about how his family and friends will see him.
As a teenager he continues to struggle with wanting others to accept him for who he is but not being able to out of the fear of being labeled with the stereotypes and ideas that come with the word “gay.”
Later in his life, he decides to pursue a relationship with another man. We see him happy despite the way his parents reacted in disappointment and the way other couples saw the two in contempt. The prejudice and insensitivity towards this unconventional type of love emphasizes the hardships and injustice same-sex couples have to go through.
His partner then proposes to him and the two get married and have a beautiful wedding. The last scene shows him on a hospital bed holding his husbands hand, both old and still together.
The chorus repeats the phrase “I can’t change even if tried, even if I wanted to” explaining that being gay is not a choice. People should not have to sacrifice their happiness and change their sexual orientation to be socially accepted or considered in a “real” relationship.
Chris Lee enjoys the song primarily because “it rises emotion” and “no other rapper of this day and age has the courage or aptitude to go beyond the boundaries of modern day rap,” which commonly centers around women, money, and drugs.
The message is clear that regardless of your sexual orientation, religion, or ethnicity, we are all the same. Macklemore exposes our country that claims to be “land of the free, home of the brave”, of the unintentional prejudices and open ignorance to tolerance for gay couples. As shown through the loving relationship between the couple in the video, marriages should not be so strictly defined as a legally contracted relationship between and a man and woman, but instead as a lifelong partnership with the partner that makes you happiest.
An opportunity for Washington to become the first state in the nation to defend marriage rights and equality with a public vote is less than a month away.
