Come Back to Earth Mac Miller
It’s rare that an artist can inspire, and at the same time leave behind a fragmented portrait that haunts the same fans that cherished every word spun by him. Mac Miller was a different breed of an artist- he openly talked, and embraced his struggles with drugs, depression, and anxiety. A victim of overdose, Mac Miller was 26 at the time of his passing. “To everyone who sell me drugs, don’t mix it with that bullshit, I’m hoping not to join the twenty seven club.” Haunting lyrics from Mac Miller’s song “Brand Name” from his album “GO:OD AM” echo his sentiments to live a life away from his demons but to be alive in a drug induced state of bliss. The album name is furthermore embellishing of his struggles, as it is stylized as an AM:PM format, in a sense to state Go OD. Mac wore his demons on his sleeve, and his heart bled to gild his music with his struggles.
I was first introduced to Mac Miller in high school, through his mixtapes on Datpiff.com, a web-hoster for artists to upload free tapes. I curiously downloaded his mixtape K.I.D.S. (Kickin’ Incredibly Dope Shit) and was treated to a taste of comically fun raps, breezy beats, and an upbeat attitude. Fan favorites from the tape that marked Mac with the “frat” rapper stamp include “Nikes on My Feet”, “Senior Skip Day”, “Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza”. Even though it was released in 2010, it wouldn’t be until the year of 2012 when I first was truly exposed to Mac Miller. This worked out in my favor, as it allowed me to catch up with his discography from his entire career, from his time as Easy Mac with the Cheesy Raps, to the mature rhymer he became known for today. The career progression that Mac displayed was quite a feat, to say the least. Established as a “frat rapper”, Mac sought to change his path. Each album was a different path, a conscious step towards reinvention, and a further move to finding the sound that often escaped his fans as the definitive “Mac sound”. Lack of certainty, however, was never an issue when it came to Mac’s music, in fact it was one of his strengths. It allowed each album to different representation of his struggles, his wants, his desires, and his ultimate endeavors to fit all of his messages into an album.
Rather than write a lengthy piece of Mac’s history and discography, I wanted to share what made Mac Miller special to me. Rarely has a celebrity death affected me to the point that Mac’s death had. A large part of that being I felt that I had grown up with him, from his come up to his untimely demise, Mac Miller had been an ongoing soundtrack in my life. His progression had been something I had seen firsthand, following his career from a college rap start to a national phenomenon. His music really separated him from other rappers, the experimental nature combined with introspective lyrics had always kept me coming back to his projects. Identifying with the basis of a person who wasn’t afraid to wear their heart on their sleeves, there was something very real about Mac- someone who dared to be themselves unapologetically, whether low or high. Mac’s music often cut deep to the veins of his issues. There was a certain sadness within Mac’s soul, that echoed within his fans, the ones who felt a little less lonely knowing someone else felt the same way. Mac Miller was a spirit and semblance of someone who only wanted to do good in the world, to create a positive change. Well Mac, if you’re listening from up there, I hope you understand you did exactly that.
