Macklemore may be eyeing a comeback.
The Grammy-winning rapper returned this week with the uplifting single “Chant,” featuring Australian singer-songwriter Tones and I. The song, which was accompanied by a Jake Magraw-directed video, marks Macklemore’s first record release of 2022.
“This song is a bit of a rebirth,” Macklemore told Rolling Stone. “I wanted to challenge myself, get through moments of writer’s block, and capture the spirit of what it’s like to overcome something, push through it, and get up the next day and do it again.”
“Chant” arrives nearly a decade after the release of “Thrift Shop,” the Grammy-winning single that turned the Seattle native into a household name. He would go on to deliver a few more hits over the following years, including “Same Love,” “Good Old Days” and “Glorious.” Macklemore’s last project was 2017’s Gemini, which was his first album without DJ/producer Ryan Lewis.
“We needed a break,” Macklemore told Rolling Stone about Lewis. “We were together damn near every day for that decade. That’s intense. And we’re so comfortable with each other, so honest with each other, that it can be daunting. We needed some space, both of us. He was the one that initiated it in the first place. I was kind of at the time like, ‘Oh my God. What am I going to do? This is nuts.’”
The rapper is now preparing to release his third solo album, which he reportedly began working on before the pandemic. He told Rolling Stone that Lewis produced one of the album’s tracks, but declined to provide further details.
You can stream the Budo-produced “Chant” on all major platforms and watch its official video above.
Macklemore will also join Imagine Dragons on their Mercury World Tour beginning Aug. 5 in Salt Lake City. Check out the full U.S. tour schedule below.
