The Seattle hip hop duo whose powerful pro-marriage equality track and video has been shared across the globe is to play shows in Wellington and Auckland in February. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis will perform in New Zealand for the first time, at Auckland's Logan Campbell Centre on Friday 22nd February and Wellington's Opera House on Saturday 23rd February. The video for the pair’s track Same Love, which you can see below, shows a gay man’s journey from a tough childhood through to a wedding day, and eventual tragedy. The lyrics call people out on the use of "so gay". "I might not be the same, but that's not important/No freedom 'til we're equal, damn right I support it," Macklemore also rhymes in the track, which was which was produced by Ryan Lewis and also features Mary Lambert. "A certificate on paper isn't going to solve it all, but it's a damn good place to start." Macklemore, who is straight, says initially he tried writing from the perspective of a gay, bullied kid, but after getting some feedback, he felt it wasn’t his story to tell. "What I do know, and where I wrote from, is my own perspective growing up in a culture where ‘that’s gay’ was commonplace, with a huge stigma on those who identified and were perceived as gay." Tickets go on sale on the 19th November from Ticketmaster
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 14th November 2012 - 12:07pm