Kendra Knight ENGL 3130: Advanced Comp East TN State University 4/21/18 Revised Essay

Defying the Norm: A Musical Review

“And I can’t change… even if I tried, even if I wanted to…”

As technology prevails in American culture, mostly everyone has access to all of our favorite music in the palm of their hands. The popular artists of today have access to a totally different platform than in the 70s and 80s. With the touch of a hand, you can search for artists online, on social media sites, and on musical apps on your phone. Everything artists do is in the public eye. This is why it’s so crucial that artists make music about what truly matters today: equality.

Being a part of the LGBTQ+ community can be tricky in the United States. The part that’s scariest is the fact that nobody has been able to completely eradicate prejudices about being against the heteronormative culture in which we live. Who you are is a predisposed condition. There is no way to change and there shouldn’t be a need or want to. No matter what anyone in our current governmental situation says, different doesn’t mean wrong. My whole life, I have been taught that no matter what, be who you are and be proud of it.

Title: I live a relatively privileged life, however, being Released: July 18, 2012 bisexual myself, I have had to hide who I was from my

Recorded: February 2012 friends and some family. I didn’t come out to my best Length: 5:20 friend Label: LLC until this (s): Ben Haggerty, , Mary Lambert past Producer(s): Ryan Lewis and Macklemore weekend,

but being the person she is, she still loves me anyway and it hasn’t changed anything. I grew up with parents, as absent as they were, who always told me that no matter how different someone looks or acts, I am to love them. Growing up in a family full of

Liberal Democrats, I have been exposed to marches for equality, protests, etc. I have made it my mission to dedicate my daily life to fighting for those who don’t have the ability to do so without being ridiculed.

When “Same Love,” was released, I was a sophomore in high school. I grew up around rednecks of Greene County in East Tennessee who are stuck in their prejudiced ways and see being homosexual as a disobedience to God. Being in the “Bible Belt,” means that about 85% of the world around you is a bunch of religious older people who don’t understand being homosexual or anything beyond heteronormative. When I first heard it, I was sitting in my room with both of my earphones in as I had been instructed to listen to it by a friend. The song begins by depicting a stereotype that being gay means being “creative” and I was hooked. As I kept listening, I heard the sincerity in Macklemore’s voice when saying that he was scared when telling his mom that he thought he was gay because he could draw well. He says, “I remember doing the math like, ‘yeah, I’m good at little league,’ a preconceived idea of what it all meant for those who like the same sex.” The song immediately inspired me to play it as loud as I could to everyone who could hear. My junior year of high school in English III Honors class, I presented a speech to my class about gay rights. I used lyrics from the song such as, “We’ve become so numb to what we’re saying,” and “gay is synonymous with the lesser.” Even though Macklemore is a celebrity and has a platform way bigger than mine ever will be, I was able to speak out against those who don’t believe that everyone deserves a chance to love who they love in my little corner of the world. In order to administer change, you have to think globally and act locally. This song’s intention was to change the way people view their platforms and by doing so, Macklemore granted access to everyone to be able to use his song to inspire others. To say that this song changed the way I view the music industry is an understatement. I grew up around songs that weren’t made to mean anything nearly as big as this one did. This beautifully

written song featuring Mary

Lambert was featured as

part of YouTube’s Pride

Week in 2012. It reached

number 11 on the Billboard

Top 100 as well as number

1 in Australia. “Same

Love” was deemed the unofficial LGBTQ anthem for those who worked to fight for gay/lesbian marriage. Released July

18, 2012, the song focuses on different stereotypes associated with rap songs such as misogyny and homophobia. For example, in the first verse, it says, “You can be cured with some treatment and religion / God loves all his children is somehow forgotten but we paraphrase a book written

3500 years ago / and I can’t change even if I tried, even if I wanted to.” Macklemore has explained that these two characteristics are the acceptable means of oppression in culture. The song’s release followed the Referendum that worked toward getting gay marriage legalized in Washington State. It took place in February 2012. The song was recorded that same month. Macklemore took it upon himself to use his platform to fight for people he doesn’t even know personally. He strictly believes that everyone deserves the same treatment, rights, and lives.

The chorus features Mary Lambert, a homosexual singer/songwriter. The lyrics of the recurring chorus say:

“And I can’t change even if I tried, even if I wanted to / my love, she keeps me warm.” “She Keeps Me Warm” is a song written and sung by Mary Lambert. Macklemore and she collaborated to incorporate these songs together to create a balance of gay and lesbian features. The collaboration of Mary’s soft voice with Macklemore’s rap allows for a ballad that reaches those who listen to it on different levels.

In the second verse, Macklemore begins with,

“If I was gay, I would think hip-hop hates me. Have you read the YouTube comments lately?

‘Man, that’s gay’ gets dropped on the daily; we’ve become so numb to what we’re saying / call each other faggots behind the keys of a message board / gay is synonymous with the lesser.”

He was able to defy stereotypical aspects of rap music and use his platform to stand up for what he feels is right. As a society, America has spent hundreds of years taking away equality.

“It’s the same hate that’s caused wars from religion, gender to skin color, the complexion of your pigment; the same fight that led people to walk outs and sit ins. It’s human rights for everybody; there is no difference.”

Everyone who is different in America has had to fight for their rights every day of their lives. More people in this country are comfortable with sitting back and watching those who love one another lose the right to be married rather than standing up for them. This song and

Macklemore’s message are both so important to the generation growing up listening to it.

“Live on and be yourself / if you preach hate at the service, those words aren’t anointed / when everyone else is more comfortable remaining voiceless rather than fighting for humans that have had their rights stolen. I might not be the same, but that’s not important; no freedom ‘till we’re equal, damn right I support it.” For the LGBTQ community especially, changes have to be recognized and measures have to be taken in order to create change and freedom for everyone. That is what Macklemore has fought to do since he wrote this song back in 2012. He believes in using his white male privilege to pave the pathway for equality for all. By saying, “Damn right I support it,” he took himself out of the stereotypical face of rappers today. He was saying that he isn’t afraid to stand for those who can’t stand for themselves which makes this song the most powerful one I have ever heard to this day.

In the last verse, he says,

“We press play, don’t press pause / kids walk around the hallway plagued by pain in their heart; a world so hateful some would rather die than be who they are. A certificate on paper isn’t going to solve it all, but it’s a damn good place to start. No law is going to change us; we have to change us. Whatever god you believe in, we come from the same one. Strip away the fear, underneath it’s all the same love, about time that we raised up.”

The song itself was written to support the Washington Referendum and was featured at the end of the video that says “Legalize Gay Marriage: Support the Washington Referendum.”

By saying all of the monumental things he does, Macklemore is able to show everyone that there’s nothing wrong with you because you’re homosexual, bisexual, transgender, etc.

Legalizing gay marriage was a crucial part of our development as a country. Not only this, but it lets those of us in the LGBTQ+ community know that we are not alone, there is nothing wrong with us. It gives listeners the ability to open their eyes and see that times are changing and we cannot stand idly by while people’s rights are being stolen from the palms of their hands. It’s human rights for everybody; there is NO difference. Love is love is love.