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A Love Song for All of Us?: Macklemore's “Same Love” and the Myth of Black Homophobia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 December 2018

LAURON KEHRER
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Abstract

According to the New York Times, white rapper Macklemore and his DJ partner Ryan Lewis's “Same Love” was “the first song to explicitly embrace and promote gay marriage that has made it into the Top 40.”1 In 2013, as the Supreme Court of the United States prepared to rule on challenges to the Federal Defense of Marriage Act and California's Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage, the track quickly climbed the charts and became a nationally recognized anthem for marriage equality. Despite this generally positive reception, however, the song does not reflect all queer-identified listeners. Macklemore raps, “If I were gay, I would think hip hop hates me,” an assertion that positions black communities as a significant threat to (white) LGBTQ rights. Much like the backlash against black voters following the 2008 passing of Proposition 8, this claim relies on an invented black pathology that locates homophobia in black American culture specifically rather than American culture at large. This article offers a close reading and contextualization of “Same Love” and demonstrates that, rather than combating homophobia in hip hop, Macklemore's lyrical claims actually bolster his strategic performance as a socially and politically aware white rapper, while erasing queer and trans hip hop artists of color from the discourse.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Society for American Music , Volume 12 , Issue 4 , November 2018 , pp. 425 - 448
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Music 2018 

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References

References

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Caramanica, Jon. “Finding a Place in the Hip-Hop Ecosystem.” New York Times, January 27, 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/28/arts/music/finding-a-place-in-the-hip-hop-ecosystem.html?_r=1.Google Scholar
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Faderman, Lillian. Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth Century America. New York: Penguin Books, 1991.Google Scholar
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Gorzelany-Mostak, Dana. “Keepin’ It Real (Respectable) in 2008: Barack Obama's Music Strategy and the Formation of Presidential Identity.” Journal of the Society for American Music 10, no. 2 (May 2016): 113–48.Google Scholar
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HoSang, Daniel Martinez. Racial Propositions: Ballot Initiatives and the Making of Postwar California. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2010.Google Scholar
Jones, Jennifer. “Natalie Grant Responds After Leaving Grammys Early; Mass Wedding at Award Show Criticized as ‘Political Stunt’ to Push Gay Marriage Agenda,” Christian Today, January 29, 2014, http://www.christiantoday.com/article/mass.wedding.at.2014.grammys.criticized.as.political.stunt.to.push.gay.marriage.agenda.natalie.grant.responds.after.early.exit/35586.htm.Google Scholar
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Kehrer, Lauron. “Beyond Beyoncé: Intersections of Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Contemporary American Hip-Hop ca. 2010–2016.” PhD diss., University of Rochester, 2017.Google Scholar
Kitwana, Bakari. Why White Kids Love Hip-Hop: Wankstas, Wiggers, Wannabes, and the New Reality of Race in America. New York: Basic Civitas Books, 2005.Google Scholar
Manjoo, Farhad. “Props to Obama: Did He Help Push California's Gay-Marriage Ban Over The Top?” Slate, November 5, 2008. http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2008/11/props_to_obama.html.Google Scholar
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McKinley, Jesse, and Johnson, Kirk. “Mormons Tipped Scale in Ban on Gay Marriage.” New York Times, November 14, 2008, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/15/us/politics/15marriage.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0.Google Scholar
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Savage, Dan. “Say ‘YES’ to War on Iraq.” The Stranger, October 17, 2002, http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/say-yes-to-war-on-iraq/Content?oid=12237.Google Scholar
Schloss, Joseph G. Foundation: B-Boys, B-Girls and Hip-Hop Culture in New York. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.Google Scholar
Schloss, Joseph G. Making Beats: The Art of Sample-Based Hip-Hop. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2004.Google Scholar
Sewell, Amanda. “Paul's Boutique and Fear of a Black Planet: Digital Sampling and Musical Style in Hip Hop.” Journal of the Society for American Music 8, no. 1 (2014): 28–48.Google Scholar
Shea, Carolyn. “Behind the Awesome.” The Evergreen Magazine, Spring 2013, http://www.evergreen.edu/magazine/2013spring/behind-the-awesome.htm.Google Scholar
Sisario, Ben. “Grammys to Feature On-Air Weddings of 34 Couples,” New York Times, “ArtsBeat” (blog), January 26, 2014, http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/26/grammys-wedding-macklemore-ryan-lewis-queen-latifah/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&hpw&rref=arts&_r=2.Google Scholar
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Sonenshein, Julia. “ATTENTION HOMOSEXUALS: It's Finally Okay to Be Gay!” thegloss.com, January 27, 2014, http://www.thegloss.com/2014/01/27/culture/macklemore-grammys-same-love-madonna/.Google Scholar
Sullivan, Andrew. “The Grim Truth.” The Atlantic, “Daily Dish” (blog), November 5, 2008, http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/11/the-grim-truth.html.Google Scholar
Trust, Gary. “Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Crown Hot 100, Justin Timberlake Soars to Top 5.” Billboard, January 23, 2013, http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1521657/macklemore-ryan-lewis-crown-hot-100-justin-timberlake-soars-to-top-5.Google Scholar
Vick, Karl, and Surdin, Ashley. “Most of California's Black Voters Backed Gay Marriage Ban.” Washington Post, November 7, 2008, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/06/AR2008110603880.html.Google Scholar
Weisbard, Eric. Top 40 Democracy: The Rival Mainstreams of American Music. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2014.Google Scholar
White, Miles. From Jim Crow to Jay-Z: Race, Rap and the Performance of Masculinity. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2011.Google Scholar
“Grammy Rehearsal Macklemore Ryan Lewis, Madonna, Mary Lambert Same Love, Open Your Heart1.” YouTube, June 25, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCl-BE2_nts.Google Scholar
Pap, Young. “Macklemore Joins The Great Race Debate on Ebro in the Morning.” Video, Hot 97, December 29, 2014, http://www.hot97.com/news/new-hot97/macklemore-joins-great-race-debate-ebro-morning-video.Google Scholar
“What Is the It Gets Better Project?” It Gets Better Project, http://www.itgetsbetter.org/pages/about-it-gets-better-project/.Google Scholar