It’s official: Macklemore is the best grandson of all time.
Not that there are any objective criteria for judgement here, but in the hilarious and heartwarming video for his first single sans Ryan Lewis, “Glorious,” Mack surprises his grandmother on her 100th birthday and tells her “we can do anything you want,” which seems like a great start.
Grandma Macklemore apparently has a wicked sense of humor, as the first thing she incites her normally upstanding grandson to do is help her egg some of her Modesto neighbors’ houses. From there, the pair have a marvelous set of adventures involving strippers, arcades, Mack’s favorite pastime of thrift shopping, karaoke in a seedy dive bar, tattoos, and a pair of shoes most hardcore sneakerheads can’t even get.
Produced by Tyler Dopps & Budo, the track finds Macklemore celebrating his success, as well as basking in a new sense confidence in himself and his renewed passion for creating new music. The video concept is especially appropriate given the shout-out grandma gets in verse 2: “My grandma smiling down on me like, ‘Woo, that boy got bars’ / Okay, okay, yes I do / I said, ‘Amen and hallelujah, let me testify too.'” It’s just the right comeback song for a rapper who’s been down on his luck (multiple times, no less) but always returns, better than ever.
