Props to our staff photographer Hayley Young for her latest work in the new issue of Out magazine. Young captured a few poignant shots (shown below) of a certain Seattle-based white rapper who’s a pretty big deal right now and his DJ/producer Ryan Lewis for the magazine’s in-depth article, “The Making of Macklemore.” At Seattle mag, we’ve loved Macklemore since his pre-fame days; in fact, we crowned him winner of our 2010 Spotlight award.

Out‘s story takes a deeper look at Macklemore’s position as a gay rights advocate, specifically when it comes to hip-hop lyrics. About his recent release of “Same Love,” Macklemore told Out:

“Each night is different — you never know,” Macklemore says. “To see 6,500 people put their hands up in support of equality is a beautiful thing. It’s honestly been the highlight of touring.” In the past, he and Lewis have expressed concern that not every stop on their stretch is going to be fully behind the song’s message. But that trepidation seems to be waning as the duo’s popularity grows.