Stream It Now – Billboard

We’re far removed from the days of “Thrift Shop” and “Same Love,” but the Macklemore train just keeps on chugging. The Grammy-winning Seattle rapper dropped his first single of 2022 on Friday (July 21).

Titled “Chant,” the new single features Tones and I and makes its debut alongside a music video co-directed by Macklemore and Jake Magraw. Macklemore started teasing the song two weeks ago (July 6) with a black-and-white Instagram post of him writing the phrase “1. Chant” on a whiteboard.

Ahead of the song’s release, Macklemore teased “Chant” with several snippets on TikTok and Instagram. “I was supposed to be a one hit ringer / Now I got too many rings and not enough fingers,” he raps on the gospel-inflected track.

“Chant” comes ahead of Macklemore’s upcoming stint on the road with Imagine Dragons. The two acts will be performing in stadiums and arenas across North America for the band’s Mercury Tour. The single also previews a new musical era for Macklemore; the multiplatinum-selling rapper celebrates ten years of The Heist this year. That blockbuster album spawned several Billboard Hot 100 hits including “Can’t Hold Us” (No. 1), “Same Love” (No. 11), and the Diamond-certified “Thrift Shop” (No. 1).

Macklemore has also experienced his share of solo success since he and Ryan Lewis went on a musical hiatus as a duo. In 2017, he dropped Gemini which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and spawned Hot 100 hits such as the Skylar Grey-featuring “Glorious” (No. 49) and the Kesha-assisted “Good Old Days” (No. 48). His “Chant” collaborator, Tones and I, had a massive breakout year in 2020 when “Dance Monkey” soared to a peak of No. 4 on the Hot 100.

Listen to “Chant” here: