Who Is Macklemore's Awareness?

The purpose of this song was to inform people about his life growing up with just a single parent. He is speaking on what his past was like while also talking about how strong his mother was while raising kids on welfare. He also talks about how his mother never gave up and how he appreciates her for all she has done for him. Another about this song is to persuade the society to stop ignoring the struggle and that everyone might need help to survive. The purpose of this song was to entertain his fans.

He is not a politician. He is not pastor. He is not the CEO of a company. But, he brings the discussion to social issues. From how African-Americans were depicted in the media and treated by the government during Hurricane Katrina, to the lack of recognition for art, to the lack of quality luxury items for the middle and lower class, to the killings that have been plaguing his city Kanye is unafraid and unapologetic when it comes to speaking his mind. And in doing so, every “outburst” he has promotes discussion about each topic. Kanye’s actions are laying the groundwork for a discussion that could, eventually, lead to a solution to these social problems, and a big change to the world. Throughout history, it is the most outspoken and freethinking people that make the biggest changes to government, philosophy, and behaviour. These are intelligent and well known people such as Ghandi, Walt Disney, Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, and Nelson Mandela. And, I firmly believe that Kanye’s name should be included in that

(The Trevor project). No matter gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, we all are humans with the same desire for love. Therefore, we should all have the same rights. Macklemore promotes voting for love which means equality and standing up for what we believe in.

When you listen to most rap music a leitmotif of drug use and glorified alcohol consumption can be heard on most Hip-Hop artist’s albums. Macklemore is a self-proclaimed abuser of these vices. Unlike most he does not elevate these depravities but speaks of his struggles overcoming their drowning influence. In the song “Starting Over” he expresses the disgrace he feels when he relapses. Macklemore painfully illustrates this shame with the verse “Feeling sick and helpless, lost the compass where self is / I know what I gotta do and I can’t help it / One day at a time is what they tell us / Now I gotta find a way to tell them”(“Starting Over”). He explains that he knows what needs to be done to overcome this evil; nonetheless because of his dependence he has become lost, and is ashamed to say he has a problem. In his song “Neon Cathedral” he discusses how going to

“Same Love” starts out with a personal experience that started at youth. It talks about how Macklemore thought that he, himself, might be gay due to his ability to draw well and that his room was always clean. Comparing himself to his uncle who is gay and the stereotypes that go along with being gay he decided he wasn't because his mother told him that he always liked girls and that he was good at sports. Growing up and hearing the many wrong stereotypes about homosexuals was all he knew about them at the time. The song then moves from the past to

He says, “no freedom ‘til we're equal, damn right i support it” (Macklemore). What this line means is that justice and freedom is only fair when everyone is equal. He supports everyone being equal. “Whatever god you believe in we come from the same strip away the fear underneath it's all the same love”(Macklemore). He is saying everyone is equal and should have liberty and freedom. Lastly he says, “its human rights for everyone, there is no difference.” (Macklemore). He believes everyone should be treated the same no matter what.

Eminem is a rap artist who made his debut in rap with the band D-12 and his first solo rap album Infinite 99'. Eminem is a rap artist who took the rap world by storm because he spoke his mind. He is a very good rapper and at the time it was predominantly black people who rapped and were successful so people were surprised when a white rapper was on top of the rap world. He is a very controversial artist with a lot of profanity, and being so open about societal topics. One of his most controversial songs is "Mosh" it is a song protesting Bush's presidency. This song was strategically released the October before the 2004 elections.

Tupac, like Macklemore also wrote about issues in the world though music. In Tupac’s song “Changes” he wrote “I see no changes/ all I see is racist faces/ Misplaced hate makes disgrace to races we under” (Tupac 4). The meaning of this is that racism is still in the world even if people try to ignore it. More importantly this shows how Tupac wrote about more than some girl; he wanted the world to be changed. Songs like this relate to Macklemore’s music makes because of how they both write about controversial issues even if people disagreed with their opinions.

“Live on! And be yourself! When I was in church they taught me something else. If you preach hate at the service, those words aren't anointed; 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. I might not be the same but that's not important. No freedom til we're equal: Damn right I support it!” When he says when he was in church they taught him something else, he means that he was taught growing up that being gay is wrong, which is why he calls holy water poisoned. He explains how people would rather just watch things happen and be “voiceless” than do something about all the hate that is spread toward people with different beliefs. Macklemore does a great job in this song supporting homosexuals and telling them to stay strong, and that change will come if people decide they want it to. Everyday we hear about people committing suicide because they can’t deal with all the hatred in today’s society, which is why Macklemore is a muse, in my opinion, because he spreads hope to the ones that need it, when he could just as easily be “voiceless.”

While listening to this song, it is easy to understand he is upset on how life is difficult in the ghetto and the mistreatment of african americans by police. Within the first few lines it says “im tired of bein poor and even worse im black. my stomach hurts so im lookin for a purse to snatch. cops give a damn about a negro, pull a trigger kill a nigga hes a hero Give the crack to the kids who the hell cares? One less hungry mouth on the welfare.” He has a strong feeling that cops don’t care about african americans due to what life was like during that time in ghetto areas.

Donald Trump has always had a good reputation with Hip hop artists prior to his run for president, once Trump announced his run for president everything changed. Rappers used to use Trumps name as a sign of money, you would hear it in your favorite rappers songs, but now rappers have songs just singling out Trump. There is a song with the name of " F**k Donald Trump" by a rapper with the name of YG. But Snoop Dogg is the latest rapper to step into the ring against Trump. Snoop Dogg accused the president of neglecting many communities in america. Snoop Dogg voiced his support for San Francisco 49er's Colin Kaepernick and called on black athletes to form their own football league in the title track in his new upcoming album " Make America Crip Again"

As stated in the course textbook by Gebreamlak, “‘Macklemore has become the voice of a community to which he doesn't belong in a genre that already has a queer presence waiting to be heard by mainstream audiences’” (Ward, 2017, Chapter 6, “Policing Homophobia in Hip Hop,” para 5). Artists and listeners have openly spoken about how Macklemore does not have the experience to address such issues as if he is a part of them such as misogyny, homophobia, or transphobia when he is a white, cisgender male, middle-class rapper instead of a member of the LGBTQ community where these issues are very real for. To elaborate, the documentary pointed out that being a gay male of color is a lot more challenging than just being a gay male since African culture,

Macklemore makes a plea to those who follow Lil Wayne by affirming the effects of narcotic abuse throughout the song, and in closure, states that Lil Wayne is an “alien”, as he can survive the effects of narcotics. Macklemore justifies this metaphor by stating that because Lil Wayne was his inspiration, he attempted to walk in Lil Wayne’s footsteps, only to fail utterly. Macklemore asserts that the best way to avoid narcotics is to stop idolizing rappers, as he makes a profound remark about his own life: “There’s no way to glorify this

Everybody has their own opinion along with their different views about equality of human rights and in LGBTI community. In the song “Same Love,” Macklemore gives his opinion against the issues of discrimination, gay rights, and marriage equality that we see in today's society. According to Macklemore, the song deals with equal human rights. (Hisey, 2012) "You can only watch injustice gone for so long until you get involved, until you say something” these are the words that Macklemore said in one of his interviews (Hisey, 2012). In that case, Macklemore raised his voice against all the issues of human rights around the world.

The appeal he uses most often is pathos, it is found throughout the song. Macklemore uses a word that is very hurtful to homosexuals: “faggots" (Haggerty, Lewis, Lambert, 2102). He uses it to show how people inappropriately use the word, but it is a word that causes a lot of pain to some people. His word choice is effective in bringing out emotion as in the line, “plagued by pain in their heart.” The choice to use the word plague describes just how bad the pain is. When people hear the word plague, we think of a widespread disease that affects hundreds and causes worldwide scare. He is saying that this pain is what they have in their heart every day. By using pathos to appeal to the emotion of love in every chorus, “my love, she keeps me warm,” Macklemore successfully tugs at a listener’s heartstrings because most can relate to the feeling of love in some way or another. Another phrase that he uses that applies to pathos is “some would rather die than be who they are.” In today's society, the topic of suicide is extremely emotional, which is what this lyric refers to. Macklemore uses a great deal of pathos appeal to reach out to his listeners and get his argument across.