Last year, a rumor made its way around the Internet that a teenage McDonald's employee had been fired after sneaking copies of his mixtape into children's Happy Meals. The story turned out to be a hoax, but in the months since, the fast-food chain has tried to rebuild its tarnished reputation with struggle rappers, first offering placemats that double as recording studios at select locations. Now, taking cues from Lefty, the Hamburger Helper mascot, and celebrity chef Guy Fieri—two culinary juggernauts who released fire mixtapes last year—the Golden Arches finally has its own hip-hop ambassador: 72-year-old Alaine O’Connor.
Known lovingly as "Gram" at the restaurant where she works in Williamson, New York, O'Connor started working at McDonald's eight years ago after her husband of more than three decades up and left. She began rapping as part of a Halloween costume, but thanks to a video uploaded to YouTube by a co-worker this week, her skills are now going viral.
“Yo, yo. I work at McDonald’s, so what do I say? I tell everybody have a nice day," she rhymes in the clip, dropping a few bars for a new employee before throwing a little shade at indecisive customers. "I'll have number one with something to drink. Do I have ESP, is that what they think?"
Still, Rapping is just a small part of O'Connor's new life. She says working at the fast-food chain has been a nice change of pace, and she's quickly become a favorite among customers and her co-workers.
"You just gotta pick yourself up and keep going," she told ABC 13. "That's what life is about and I'm having more fun than I did 30 years ago."
Still, O'Connor's bars have helped solidify her reputation.
"She's definitely got skills for sure," Daniel Alsup, O'Connor's co-worker who uploaded the video, said. "She spits mad fire."
[via ABC 13]