Chart-topping artists are idols in our society. We drool over every word they sing or rap to us, but this often comes with a cost. We accept and even join in on their slurs of profanities, derogatory phrases and other offensive language choices.
“Gay” is a word that is all too common in some of today’s popular songs. Rap gods like Eminem and Jay-Z use it with a negative connotation. In their songs, being gay is bad, weak and makes you a lesser person.
Recently, however, prominent artists are starting to stand up for gay rights and support equal love in their industry. Because artists are seen as such prominent figures, they have the ability to communicate a message that otherwise would be ignored.
R&B artist Frank Ocean came out with his latest album in July, and in the same month came out of the closet. He shocked the R&B world. While there was backlash, his album “Channel ORANGE” still received numerous praises. His sexuality did not seem to have an effect on the respect people had for his artistic talents.
I recently heard a song that mirrored the courage Frank Ocean had when he came out.
While some rappers choose to regularly use “gay” in a derogatory way, artist Macklemore stood up for all the people offended by their lyrics and expressed his opinion of same-sex relationships in “Same Love.”
His song is full of insightful phrases that made me look at the unfortunate way our society perceives people that are anything but straight. While all his lines were deep with meaningful messages, some lines seemed to play louder than the others.
_“America the brave still fears what we don’t know and God loves all his children, is somehow forgotten.”_
He starts the song by saying this country has a habit of fearing what they don’t understand. Similar to different religions and ethnicities, we reject ideas that are not our own before we take the time to learn about them.
_“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.”_
This is one of the biggest problems and a root of bullying. Society uses the word “gay” as a synonym for anything bad. Because people use this word with a negative connotation, being gay turns into something to be ashamed of.
_“That holy water that you soak in has been poisoned when everyone else is more comfortable remaining voiceless rather than fighting for humans that have had their rights stolen.”_
Here, Macklemore calls out churches for preaching that being gay is an awful thing. He points out that when the church teaches hate, it is no longer as pure as it claims to be. He goes on to say that remaining silent instead of standing up for those who cannot is the real sin.
_“When kids are walking ‘round the hallway plagued by pain in their heart, a world so hateful some would rather die than be who they are.”_
This phrase shows the pain that bullied kids truly go through. His words are based off fact. Bullying has turned into an extremely prominent issue in America. Kids have taken their own lives because they have been bullied into hating themselves for being different.
“_Underneath it’s all the same love_” is one of my favorite lines.
There is so much hate in the world today — hate that is fueling wars and the reason behind so many deaths. We need to embrace the fact that all love, no matter who loves whom, is a positive thing. It is a feeling the whole world chases after. Many of our favorite movies, books and songs are centered on finding love. When someone finds it, it should not be discriminated against. If you have it, hold on to it because love will get us a lot further in this world than hate ever will.
Music is said to speak to your soul. At some point, music has affected all of us in some way. “Same Love” is a sign of hope for the people that struggle with accepting their sexuality. Macklemore’s words are brave; he stood up against society and used his music to show that it’s OK to be gay, lesbian or bisexual. He showed the challenges people in the LGBTQ community face and stood up to say that there must be a change.
Change is never easy, but as Macklemore says toward the end, “_A certificate on paper isn’t gonna solve it all, but it’s a damn good place to start._”
