I Want to Talk about Macklemore’s Grammy Performance

So last night on the Grammys, if you didn’t watch them, Macklemore did a very amazing, touching and bold performance towards the end of the show. Normally, I don’t watch the Grammys. I largely don’t like the English music industry so I never bother with it. I realized how out of touch I am with the English music industry when I didn't know 90% of the artists last night. However, to see this performance, it was worth it to sit through nearly three hours of Grammy nonsense. I can admit that I watched the Grammys solely for Macklemore’s performance and it was well worth it. I’m glad I did not just for that but also because I got to see Metallica perform as well. Metallica performing was just a nice surprise that I didn’t know was going to happen. After all these years, Metallica is still killing it at music. They’re quite talented.

Macklemore’s performance was stunning and beautiful; it got the message across perfectly. It was, without a doubt, the best performance of the night in my eyes. I can honestly say that his performance was one of the only Grammy performances I’ve genuinely enjoyed; it was certainly the first one I cried during.

If you didn’t watch Macklemore’s performance last night, you can view it below:


Watching that, I was very happy. I knew Macklemore was going to perform Same Love last night but I didn’t know he was planning the weddings. It was a very pleasant surprise and I was quite happy after watching that…. Unfortunately, after that, I went online and read the comments. I got a bit sad all over again. I should stop reading comments online; it never fails to depress me.

It makes me truly sad that people are missing the point of this performance. If people paid a little more attention than they would understand what this performance was about, why the weddings happened, and why it needed to happen. If people would stop letting their bigotry cloud their minds, they would be able to see the good in this performance and why the Grammys was the perfect spot for it to happen at.

Before I go on, if you were wondering, yes those were real weddings. I thought it was an act at first too but it wasn’t. Queen Latifah was given special permission for the night to act an ordained minister, her powers ended at midnight. All of those couples are now legally married in the State of California and everywhere else that accepts marriage equality. It was not an act and it was not a gimmick.

Now I’ve seen a lot of people bash Macklemore’s performance as ‘disgusting’ and ‘wrong’. I’ve seen a lot of people say it was inappropriate for the Grammys to have ‘gay weddings’. I’ve seen people say it was “shoving gay weddings” down peoples’ throats. I’ve seen people say everything under the sun about the gay weddings at the Grammys. If you’re focusing on the same-sex couples last night, can I say one thing to you?

You’ve missed the point.

Your mind so clouded by hatred that you’ve missed the point of Macklemore’s performance. Yes, there were same-sex couples that got married last night. You want to know what else there was? Opposite sex couples getting married. Interracial couples getting married. Elder couples getting married and young couples getting married. Couples of all different genders, races, and ages got married last night. It was not just same-sex couples. As a society, we have so much animosity stored up for same-sex couples that when something like this happens, the only thing we see is the same-sex couples and the only thing we think of to do is to bash those couples.

This performance was not about same-sex marriage. It was not solely about same-sex couples. This performance was about, as the song says, same love. This performance was meant to show that no matter who you love, whether they’re the same gender as you or not, whether they’re the same race as you or not, our love is all equal. It’s all the same love, there’s no difference. I think Queen Latifah’s intro summed it up perfectly. This song is not a song for some of us but for all of us. This performance was not a performance for some of us but for all of us.

If you didn’t see this part of it, re-watch it. But this time, let go of your inner hatred and watch it. Let your heart and your mind free, you’ll see why this performance was stunning and beautiful. You’ll see why this performance was needed.

These weddings fit perfectly with the song. If you don’t understand why they do, just listen to the lyrics of the song. If you still can’t get it then that’s your own personal problem, I’m sorry but that’s all I’ve got to say. The Grammys are the biggest night for the American music industry (and the occasional British musician). Music is something that brings us together. No matter what race we are or what gender we are, music brings us together. This performance couldn’t have happened on a better night. Not only does it show that our love is the same but it demonstrates perfectly how music can bring people together despite their differences.

It was the perfect demonstration of love and the power of music.

I respect Macklemore and this is why. I am not a fan of hip-hop and often times I hate it because of their derogatory lyrics. I’m not Macklemore’s fan, I don’t like his songs. The only song from him I like is Same Love but because of this song, I respect him. He’s using his fame for good; he’s using his fame to help people. That’s what makes me respect him. He took a bold step last night. As much as I hate to say that, it’s true. In the U.S, doing something like what Macklemore did is still bold because of how homophobic the U.S still is. I wish it wasn’t. I wish my country was more open minded but we’re not, we’re still working towards that. I do hope someday that things like this can stop being considered "bold" but until that day comes, things like this need to continue happening.

I started tearing up around the lines of no freedom till we’re equal, damn right I support it. The way the crowd reacted to those lines was just incredible and I’m so proud to see that. I am not ashamed to admit that I cried when the weddings started. It caught me off guard and it was such a lovely thing to see. I like seeing happy couples in the media like this, particularly same-sex couples. To see real, happy same-sex couples like this… It reminds me that my past is wrong. It reminds me that everything I was told growing up is wrong.

Growing up, I was told that being gay was a sin. I was told that I was an abomination. I was told to my face by multiple people that I deserved to die for being gay. I was told that if I didn’t change, I would never find love. I was told that I would be alone for the rest of my life because love didn’t exist for same-sex couples.

Do you have any idea how that felt? How that still feels?

I grew up hating myself. I grew up harboring so much shame and hatred for myself, and all of that is still present. I still struggle to let go of the shame. I can’t say the words out loud. If you want the truth, I don’t think I’ve ever said the words “I’m gay” or anything like it out loud. I’ve said it online but real life is different, I won’t say it because it makes me feel so ashamed. I always skirt around the words and refuse to say them. I can admit my sexuality but the words make me feel disgusting.

And I hate that.

I hate that I feel that way. I hate that I still feel this shame after all these years. It’s hard to let go though of when you had this verbally beaten into you for so many years. I grew up in a country where same-sex couples had no rights. I grew up in a country where it was acceptable to threaten someone’s life because they’re gay. I grew up in a country where there were no protections for these people. I grew up in a country so filled with hatred. I grew up in the United States. I’m born and raised here, I’ve never left.

I’m happy to say that the U.S I grew up in is no longer the U.S that I live in today. We’re a different country. We’ve moving along slowly but we’re getting there. I have faith that soon, our kids won’t have to live in shame. They won’t have to grow up hating themselves because they like the same sex. They won’t have to grow up thinking they don’t deserve their life because they like the same sex.

I know a lot of people have a problem with this performance; I know it'll ignite (and has ignited) a lot of controversy. Trust me; I have seen the homophobic comments. I’ve seen the name-calling, I’ve seen the slurs. I’ve seen the comments about how “disgusting” and “wrong” it was. I’ve seen the comments about how it was an “abomination”. And I know others will too. I know older people will see it and I know younger people will see it. I know young kids and teenagers will be affected by these words and I want to say something about that really quickly.

Don’t listen to them.

They’re wrong. Their words are wrong. There was nothing wrong with what happened at the Grammys last night and there never will be. What happened last night was a display of true love and equality. Don’t listen to people making derogatory comments, listen to the people making positive comments. I’ve seen more positive comments than I have derogatory ones, and I am happy to say that. There’s nothing wrong with you and there was nothing wrong with this.

I am proud of what happened last night and the people who helped organize it. I hope this progress can continue. I hope we can leave this hatred behind for good one day.