Here are some new photos of Macklemore in East London over the weekend, performing at the Yahoo Wireless festival/concert thing. We’ve never really devoted a post to Macklemore, which is a shame because he’s actually pretty awesome. All of a sudden, he just sort of appeared last year and he’s become a major rapper and hit maker. More interestingly, Macklemore doesn’t just rap about flossing and bitches, you know? “Thrift Song” is basically a song telling dudes that they’re douchebags for buying $200 shirts to impress girls. “Can’t Hold Us” is about… well, I’m not sure what it’s about, but it’s everywhere and it’s a fun song. And then there’s “Same Love” which just went platinum last week. It’s a song about homosexuality and love and gay-marriage and equality, and it’s just a really great song in which this rapper is actually blasting his own music genre for not standing up for human rights and gay rights.
Macklemore gave a lengthy interview to NYC’s Hot 97 – you can see the videos of the interview here at Towleroad. In “Same Love” he raps about his gay uncle, and in the music video for the song, you see him at a wedding of two gay men. In the Hot 97 interview, Macklemore says that he actually has two uncles that are “hella gay” and they both have partners, so he says he really has four gay uncles. Macklemore said about the song:
“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 still rampant in the hip-hop community and it just gets the co-sign.”
“The last year has gotten a lot better, but for so long, it was just an issue that nobody touched on.”
“People are just scared [of rapping about homosexuality]. People are just really scared of how other people are going to perceive them. And for me, artists push the envelope of what is ‘culturally acceptable’ within hip-hop – what falls under the parameters of what hip-hop is and what it isn’t. Those rules are old and outdated. This is an issue of equality and humanity and let’s put that at the forefront and not worry about what the internet is going to say about us. I don’t give a f*ck. I’d rather change people’s lives than worry what the comments are going to say.”
If you have a spare half hour, it’s really worth it to go watch the whole interview – Macklemore is really well-spoken, thoughtful and interesting.
And yes, I would hit it. CB would too! She loves him, which is weird because usually I’m the only one into pale gingers. I think the ginger-love is rubbing off on her! Macklemore’s got great arms and great (freckled!) shoulders.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN, Instagram.
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