Same Love
"Same Love" is a song by American hip hop duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, released as the third single from their 2012 debut studio album, The Heist. The track, featuring vocals by Seattle-based singer Mary Lambert, talks about the issue of gay and lesbian rights and was recorded during the campaign for Washington Referendum 74, which, upon approval in November 2012, legalized same-sex marriage in Washington State. The song reached number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States and reached number 1 in both Australia and New Zealand. The song was nominated at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards for Song of the Year.[2]
For other uses, see The Same Love."Same Love"
July 18, 2012
February 2012
5:20
Macklemore LLC
Ryan Lewis
The cover artwork for the single shows a photograph of Macklemore's uncle, John Haggerty, and his husband, Sean.[3]
Composition[edit]
"Same Love" was unofficially adopted as an anthem by supporters of legalizing same-sex marriage, particularly in reference to Washington Referendum 74, a Washington state referendum to approve or reject the February 2012 bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in the state.[4]
Macklemore explained that the song also came out of his own frustration with hip hop's positions on homosexuality. "Misogyny and homophobia are the two acceptable means of oppression in hip hop culture. It's 2012. There needs to be some accountability. I think that as a society we're evolving and I think that hip hop has always been a representation of what's going on in the world right now."[5]
Reception[edit]
"Same Love" received critical acclaim. Gary Nunn in The Guardian said that the song was "a far cry from the cheese-fest that usually puts commercial interest first, tenuous rhyming couplets second and poignancy last" and that it "may be the most profound song" hip-hop as a genre has produced.[6] Critic Robert Christgau named it one of the top ten singles of 2012[7] and wrote that the song was "the best gay marriage song to date in any genre and as corny as it damn well oughta be."[8]
Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone, although giving the album a mixed review, called "Same Love" one of its "virtues".[9] David Jeffries of AllMusic described the track as a "pro-gay marriage highlight".[10] Adam Fleischer of XXL wrote "Lewis provides bright and uplifting instrumentation to perfectly reflect Macklemore's forward-thinking analysis of hip-hop and society's take on homosexuality and same sex marriage."[11] Billboard listed "Same Love" at number four on their list of Best Songs of 2013, stating that "the triumph of "Same Love" is in its specificity".[12]
"Same Love" became the first Top 40 song in the U.S. to promote and celebrate same-sex marriage.[13]
Music video[edit]
The music video for "Same Love", directed by Ryan Lewis and Jon Jon Augustavo and produced by Tricia Davis, debuted on Lewis's YouTube account on October 2, 2012, and accumulated 350,000 views 24 hours after its debut. The video, spanning decades, depicts the life of the main character and the same-sex partner with whom he falls in love, including the social conflicts which befall them in relation to their sexual orientation, their eventual marriage, and the death of one of the partners in old age. The wedding of the main couple was filmed at All Pilgrims Christian Church in Seattle. Macklemore and Mary Lambert cameo in non-speaking roles in the video.
The description of the video links to the website of Music4Marriage.org, an initiative to encourage musical support for Washington State Referendum 74; the organization dissolved after its passage.[14]
The video received the 2013 MTV Video Music Award for Best Video with a Message.
Chart performance[edit]
The single was released on July 18, 2012. It entered the Billboard Hot 100 the week of February 16, 2013 at number 99 and later peaked at number 11. On the US Rap chart, "Same Love" placed within the Top 5, peaking at number 2. This gave Macklemore and Ryan Lewis simultaneous Top 5 songs, along with "Thrift Shop" and "Can't Hold Us". "Same Love" also reached number 1 in New Zealand, number 4 on the Canadian Hot 100, and number 6 on the UK Singles Chart. As of September 2013, the song has sold over 2 million copies in the United States.[22]
The song also replaced "Thrift Shop" at number 1 on the Australian ARIA Charts in January 2013,[23] making Macklemore only the third artist to replace themselves at number one on the ARIA Charts after Madonna in 1985 and the Black Eyed Peas in 2009.[24] The song reached the peak once again in 2017, following the legalisation of same sex marriage in Australia.
Credits and personnel are adapted from The Heist album liner notes.[26]