Rap sensation Macklemore has revealed that growing up with gay relatives brought to light how homophobic the hip-hop community still is.

During an interview with Hot 97 radio, in which he opened up about the inspiration behind his single 'Same Love', the star explained that numerous members of his family are gay so he understands the importance of fighting for equality and can see where it doesn't exist:

"I have hella gay uncles. On my dad's side, out of his four brothers, two of those brothers are gay. And they have their respective partners, and I consider them my uncles as well."

Referring specifically to 'Same Love', Macklemore added that it's a song with a message about accountability within his own community: "I think that looking at the hip-hop community, and holding myself accountable in the hip-hop community, was what I cared about. That's my community; that's who I see to be oppressing gay people...Homophobia is still rampant in the hip-hop community and it just gets the co-sign."