“100 Grandkids” by Mac Miller

Mac Miller’s time on this earth wasn’t nearly enough for his artistic scope. The Pittsburgh rapper started out making music that was cited as “unpolished” and would go on to be one of the most artistically inclined rappers of this decade. The changes made to his musical style over the course of his five studio albums was an incredible reminder that even the most successful artists can continue to grow and evolve well into their careers. Mac had a new sound, new techniques, and new emotions in every album he released, and it’s an incredible shame we’ll never get to see how much more he could’ve done with more time. The song “100 Grandkids” is the first single off of his third studio album, GO:OD AM, and was released in August, 2015.

The track is actually split into two sections: “Grandkids” and “100 Grand”. “Grandkids” is Mac’s promise to his mother to bring her some grandkids to spoil, while “100 Grand” is a reflection on his journey to getting his first hundred grand. Mac effortlessly brings these two themes together, and you wouldn’t know they were separated just by listening. It all feels like one good story. Mac was always on another level when it came to clever wordplay, and this song has some incredible examples of that, including the lines “But what's a God without a little OD? Just a G” and “I swear to God I put the hero in heroin (Dope), these flows kilos”.

The music video begins with curtains rising on a small theatre stage. A bunch of kids dressed in homemade animal costumes march in front of the castle setting, as a giant moon is lowered from the rafters. Mac’s face is superimposed on it, reminiscent of the Sun Baby from Teletubbies. The production is a animal-themed retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Since the kid’s costumes are homemade, many of them are wearing matching chucks, which gives the fake production a realistic touch. After the show is over and the kids take their bows, Mac exits the theatre and walks through the school campus. He arrives at the parking lot where a yellow low rider is awaiting him. He spends the rest of the video rapping in front of the lowrider as it bounces behind him. This is a fun video that offers some cute visuals as Mac’s rhymes and charisma take center stage.