Sit Down and Listen

This year, I stumbled upon Macklemore because of this class.  I began to listen to his new music and I heard his song Same Love.  I listened it to a lot and eventually started looking up more on Macklemore and his songs as well as videos.  What I found was this video of Macklemore talking to the public about his life and connection to same-sex marriage.  

I find it fascinating that Macklemore found it important to sit down with a camera and just speak.  This relates to my earlier post on Hip-Hop and homosexual marriage and how celebrities are speaking out to their fans and public.  These changing beliefs within Hip-Hop are morphing the culture for the better and allowing for new beliefs to enter.  

Below is Macklemore’s song, Same Love, for those of you who haven’t heard it yet.  It discusses love and how love is not confined to heterosexual couples.  Pay attention to the use of the woman and the man singing; I feel that adds to the message and emphasizes that love can occur with both gay and lesbian couples.

Let me know what else you find in the videos! 

Hip-Hop and Just Plain Politics

Given the recent election, I thought it would be good to look at how politics has affected Hip-Hop.  I came across this article from earlier this semester dealing with masculinity and homosexuality within the Hip-Hop culture.  It was written about Obama and how he endorsed gay marriage earlier this year and in doing so, the support of many prominent Hip-Hop artists became better known.  President Obama’s longtime endorser, Jay-Z, came forward and commended the President’s actions.  Jay-Z compared the struggle with same-sex marriage with that of the discrimination of African Americans and stated, "I think it's the right thing to do. It's not about votes. It's about people. It's the right thing to do as a human being."

The title: “Has Obama made hip-hop rethink masculinity?” shows there that there is a radical movement accompanying the election and how many of the modern Hip-Hop artists are speaking up and stepping forward about their beliefs in order to cause a change in Hip-Hop and society today.  I find this empowering coming from the typically homophobic genre.  Recently, through the presidential election, other Hip-Hop artists have come forth about their support for same-sex marriage; artists such as Ice Cube and T.I. were among them.  Through President Obama advocating same-sex marriage, Hip-Hop artists have come forth and allowed the public to hear their beliefs, thus beginning the shift of Hip-Hop’s acceptance of homosexuality.

Has Obama made hip-hop rethink masculinity?