Macklemore says gay uncles influenced hit single 'Same Love'

Seattle-based rapper Macklemore has named his gay uncles as influencing his hit single Same Love.

 

Appearing on New York City's Hot 97, Macklemore was asked about the single, which hit platinum status on Friday.

"I think [my gay uncles] were an influence," he told radio hosts Angie Martinez and Peter Rosenberg. "I think that looking at the hip-hop community and holding myself accountable in the hip-hop community was what I cared about. That's my community. That's who I see to be oppressing gay people. The f word and saying 'that's gay' are still rampant. Homophobia is till rampant in the hip-hop community. ... The last year has gotten a lot better. But for so long, it was an issue that nobody touched on."

Macklemore explained that homophobia persisted in hip-hop because "people are just scared."

"People are just really scared of how other people are going to perceive them. ... This is an issue of equality and humanity. ... I'd rather change people's lives than worry what the comments are going to say," he added.


Video for gay marriage anthem 'Same Love'

Mackelmore's 7-minutes video for Same Love, featuring singer Mary Lambert. In October 2012, Amy Rolph at Big Blog, a blog hosted by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, wrote the music video "shows all the signs for becoming a new anthem for gay marriage in Washington state."