Angel Haze Freestyles About Coming Out Over Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ “Same Love”: Listen

Hip-hop is currently experiencing a reemergence of the MC as master craftsman, with lyricism and technical skills at a premium in the mainstream for the first time in years (perhaps since Lil Wayne‘s Tha Carter III?). But while guys like Kendrick Lamar and Eminem are the face of this trendlet, Angel Haze has quietly been proving she deserves to be on the list of today’s most gifted MCs.

For her latest 30 Gold offering, the incendiary rapper chronicles her painful coming out story with a “freestyle” over Macklemore & Ryan Lewis‘ gay rights anthem “Same Love.” Angel has never shied away from harrowing personal details in her rhymes, and this time is no different: “At age 13, my mother knew I wasn’t straight / She didn’t understand but she had so much to say / She sat me on the couch, looked me straight in my face / And said ‘You’ll burn in Hell, or probably die of AIDS.'” She continues the tale, standing up for anyone who’s been bullied about who they are and who they love, and offers a scathing attack on “ignorance” and close-mindedness: “Fuck your religion, fuck constitutions, fuck superstitions / There are no lakes of fire, we’re here on Earth / And the only thing to do is, put love first.”

Hear the emotional track below.