Children should conduct all interviews from this point forward because they get into it. They aren't afraid to ask the real questions.

Case in point: The HiHo Kids all got 20 minutes to grill Macklemore on anything they wanted. It starts with a bang when a young girl asks, "Is it hard to be a rapper with your kind of skin tone?" Unfazed, the rap star answers with a smirk, "What are you trying to say?"

Macklemore keeps it pretty real with the kids, except for maybe a couple times, like when he said that weird thing about the "sexiest animal hunters."

Surprisingly, some of the kids didn't recognize Macklemore. But this one did and he's a big fan (as you'll see if you watch to the end):

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My heart is ten times bigger after watching Macklemore's just-released music video for his new song, "Glorious."

In it, he flies to Modesto to surprise his Grandma Helen for her 100th birthday.

He tells her, "We're gonna do whatever you wanna do."

She replies, "Oh god, I want to do it all."

Game on.

He then drives the new centenarian (in a badass gold Cadillac El Dorado convertible, no less) to a karaoke bar, a thrift store (naturally), the local grocery store (where they race motorized shopping carts), and other stops along the way. All over town, they have good old-fashioned fun, and cause a bit of trouble. When they get back to her house, he's got more surprises waiting for her, including strippers and a giant birthday cake.

Go, granny, go.

Seriously, if this video doesn't make you feel all the feels, you'd better check yourself.

The Modesto Bee interviewed Grandma Helen (Schott) about filming the video:

“I’ve never done this before. You have to be a bit of a nut to do all of this...It was my first time singing karaoke. I’d never been into one of those places where you play all the games either. Everyone was so charming; they’re all wonderful people.”

Macklemore (born Ben Haggerty) wrote in the comments' section of the video:

“Grandma - nothing is more Glorious than you. Happy 100th. Thank you for the Werther’s Originals. The advice. And for being a part of something that I’ll treasure forever.

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Andy Baio looks at the implications of Macklemore's Thrift Shop, the first single from an unsigned artist to reach #1 since Lisa Loeb's 1994 hit, Stay (I Missed You).

We're at the beginning of an indiepocalypse — a global shift in how culture is made, from a traditional publisher model to independently produced and distributed works. Artists that were royally screwed over in the past now have an alternative.

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Fantastic song by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. He wears your granddad's clothes and looks incredible!

 

Music for Marriage Equality is working with Washington musicians to approve R-74, a referendum that will put same-sex marriage to the popular vote on Washington's state ballot in November.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis recorded this lovely song, which includes vocals by Mary Lambert, to benefit Music for Marriage Equality. The cover art (above) for the single is a photograph of Macklemore’s uncles, who served as inspiration for the song and were a model of a committed and loving relationship while he was growing up.

Here's Macklemore on the process of writing the song:

 This song, which I wrote in April, is a response to what I have observed and experienced, and is also an act of personal accountability. It was not easy to write, and I struggled with how I, as a straight male, could genuinely speak upon this issue.

Initially, I tried writing from the perspective of a gay, bullied kid, but after getting some feedback, I felt it wasn’t my story to tell. What I do know, and where I wrote from, is my own perspective growing up in a culture where “that’s gay” was commonplace, with a huge stigma on those who identified and were perceived as gay.

Growing up in the Catholic Church, I saw first-hand how easily religion became a platform for hate and prejudice. Those who “believed” were excused from their own judgments, bypassing the stark issue of basic civil rights.

But, more influential to me as a kid than the church was hip hop, my cultural foundation that influenced my worldview.

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