The Death of Mac Miller

Lucy Butler
Sep 8, 2018 · 3 min read

This morning I awoke to the news of Mac Miller's death. He was my favourite rapper. His lyrics spoke to me and made me feel seen in a world that doesn’t understand depression. Mac Miller was a sad party boy. Even in his recent, more upbeat albums including ‘The Divine Feminine’ and ‘Swimming’, his melancholy could be identified if you listened to the undertones of his lyrics and sombre beats.

The cover for Mac Millers album ‘Faces’

The swathe of celebrity deaths recently paints a grim picture of modern society. Western society is moving away from religious idols and toward real-life individuals who people can empathise and connect with. When Kate Spade died it rocked the fashion world. When Anthony Bordain committed suicide only a few days later it touched chefs and food lovers around the world.

The cover for Mac Miller’s album ‘GO:OD AM’

Celebrities struggles are not private, they are very much in the public eye. In a way, this makes celebrities more relatable to us as human beings. We are reminded that nobody is perfect and we all have our demons to battle. As Mac Miller said on the track ‘Wings’ in his latest album ‘Lucifer is human so are we.’ In his former years Mac Miller was addicted to ‘Purple Drank’ or ‘Lean’, a concoction of prescription drugs and cough syrup. It is not yet clear what Mac Miller died from, however it was presumably a drug that helped him escape reality.

The cover for Mac Miller’s album ‘The Divine Feminine’

No celebrity is above the human condition, we all struggle with intrusive thoughts and feelings. In the last interview before his death, Mac Miller openly admitted “I have a tendency to kinda brood about stuff and cook in it. I’ll wake up and just sit here and think about it for hours.” Mac Miller was a conscious rapper and wrote lyrics about love, vulnerability and mortality. Despite never meeting the guy, I felt like I understood him. He struggled with problems that are innately human; addiction, heartbreak and his own mortality. Mac Miller will forever be remembered in the rap community as a wordsmith who so beautifully illustrated the human condition. RIP Mac Miller.

The cover for Mac Millers final album ‘Swimming’
Lucy Butler

Written by

My name is Lucy. I’m an aspiring Writer / Psychologist (I don’t know which one I want to be yet). I scribble about mental health and human consciousness.

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