January 30, 2013 | Arts / Entertainment

Hip-hop artist stands up for gay rights

Ben Haggerty, better known as hip-hop artist Macklemore, is sitting pretty on the pop charts. His hit 'Thrift Store' is number one and he's getting a lot of praise from critics.

Even better, Macklemore is unapologetically supportive of the queer community. He even wrote and released a fabulous song in support of gay rights; 'Same Love' not only speaks to the need to be supportive, it also takes hip hop to task for being homophobic.

“A couple of years ago, Ryan and I would say ‘that’s gay’ because it’s so embedded in our culture,” he said. “You have a conversation with a couple of people and they kinda call you out about it and all of a sudden you stop saying it.

“Same Love was a song that I wanted to write for a long time but I didn’t know exactly how to address the issue,” he added. “I knew I wanted to write a song about gay rights and homophobia within the hip-hop community and the world.”

He's even got a huge fan in Ellen DeGeneres, who pointed out that  “no other artists in hip-hop history have ever taken a stand defending marriage equality the way [duo Macklemore and Ryan Lews] have.”

Macklemore: Why I wrote Same Love  [same same]