MACKLEMORE - CHANT FEATURING TONES AND I

What this video is

Released July 22, 2022, 'Chant' marked Macklemore's first single of the year and served as the lead single for his third solo album Ben (2023). Thematically rooted in personal resurrection — addressing his near-fatal drug overdose in 2020, career self-doubt during the pandemic, and a defiant refusal to retire — the video channels those themes through gospel-inflected visuals shot in Seattle landmarks. The…

Why it matters

Represents a 2020s evolution of confessional hip-hop, blending rap with gospel choir, piano-driven production, and stadium-scale communal imagery. Signals a shift away from hip-hop maximalism toward introspective, spiritually-coded visual language — a notable departure from the high-saturation,…

The director

Jake Magraw is a Seattle-based music video director and editor with an established collaborative relationship with Macklemore. He is credited as both director and editor on 'Chant,' working alongside co-director Ben Haggerty (Macklemore). Magraw is listed on…