Remembering Mac Miller: A Tribute to the Late Rapper
On the four-year anniversary of Mac Miller’s death, we remember the rapper for his soulful character and unrelentingly honest music.
Written by Miranda Garza
Photo courtesy of Clarke Tolton
September 7 marks the fourth year since the world became a little darker with the loss of the prophetically real musician Mac Miller.
The 26-year-old rapper died due to an accidental overdose in his Studio City home in 2018. The news of Miller’s death came as a shock to the world and left his family, friends, and fans full of grief. The unexpected loss of someone so young and talented is inevitably tragic, but to reduce Miller to his death would be nothing short of a disservice to him and the musical legacy he worked relentlessly to build.
Malcolm James McCormick began making music as a teenager under the name Mac Miller, and already had a number of mixtapes under his belt, including Best Day Ever and K.I.D.S., prior to the 2011 release of his first studio album, Blue Slide Park. The Pittsburgh-born rapper’s discography is extensive, and his sound boundless. Miller defied the traditional barriers of rap and endlessly fused different genres together, creating his signature experimental sound. His fourth studio album, The Divine Feminine, notably featured an abundance of funk-driven basslines and big-band jazz instrumentals in tracks like “Stay” and “Skin.” The rapper also expressed his devotion to jazz; in 2012 Miller released an EP titled You, under the alias Larry Lovestein & The Velvet Revival.
In addition to his unique and expansive sounds, Miller’s unadulterated honesty was another defining aspect of his music. He had a penchant for writing about intimate subjects like mental health struggles, drug addiction, and rocky romances. To complement these personal narratives, his seemingly unfiltered and vulnerable flow forged a diary-like landscape for his listeners. In the month preceding his death, Miller released the wistful record, Swimming, where he chronicles his trials and tribulations with depression and self-acceptance through synths and pensive melodies. The soul-baring “Come Back to Earth” perfectly illustrates his poignant intimacy with his fans, “Oh, the things I’d do / To spend a little time in Hell / And what I don’t tell you / I’ll prolly never even tell myself,” as he reflects on his struggles with isolation and substance use. Conversely, Miller writes extensively about self-care, gratitude, and personal growth; reminding listeners to be patient with themselves through the bittersweet lines in “Circles:” “Don’t you put any more stress on yourself / It’s one day at a time.” His soul-baring lyrics are what set him apart from other musicians and helped kindle his highly personal connection between him and his fans.
Miller’s music and magnetic, compassionate character had a wide impact on other musicians and the industry as a whole. Many of his close friends spoke out on his passing, with nothing but heartening things to say about the late rapper. R&B singer Kehlani, who’d been a fan of Miller since high school, described her friendship with Miller as highly rewarding. She told DJ Booth, “I learned that there are so many routes to success [from him], and there are so many ways to relax and be happy.” Miller encouraged and inspired aspiring musicians to create their own art, like rapper Casey Veggies who attributed the start of his career to the late musician. Whether it be through his words of encouragement or his extensive and unique tunes, Miller’s legacy influenced musicians of many genres and fans alike.
Miller’s estate posthumously released his sixth studio album in January 2020. Circles was left incomplete at the time of Miller’s sudden death, so the album’s production was completed by producer Jon Brion. Circles is a dreamscape, a comforting hug from Miller himself. The steady album came at the perfect time and helped to heal the universal grief shared by his supporters. Miller’s epilogue continued the following year with the re-release of the jazz-eclectic mixtape, which he initially released five years prior under his producer pseudonym, Larry Fisherman. Formerly only available on a select few smaller streaming platforms, Faces became accessible under his better-known recording name in 2021. Composed of 24 songs, the album is built on heavy swing instrumentation and psychedelic electric guitars. Lyrically, the record touches on darker subject matters like addiction and mental health struggles, which at times can feel haunting. Concluding track “Grand Finale” exemplifies this perfectly, with Miller’s reference to his own death leaving an unsettling pit in the stomachs of listeners: “Let us have a grand finale / The World will be just fine without me.” Nonetheless, the late rapper’s clever wordplay and boundless experimentation has made Faces a standout within his discography, and it is widely regarded as Miller’s magnum opus.
In July 2022, fans received the re-release of Miller’s I Love Life, Thank You. The decade-old mixtape was originally released in October of 2011 as a symbol of appreciation after Miller reached one million followers on Twitter. With gratitude evident from the title alone, the project’s 13 songs are upbeat and lively. Miller’s record company, Rostrum Records, made the mixtape’s reissue an interactive experience for fans and held a 12-hour Reddit Talk where label executives interacted with users, hosted giveaways, and shared never-before-seen photos and videos of the late rapper.
At times, it’s hard to label Miller as a rapper, given that his cathartic tracks made him feel more like a friend. In the four years following his death, it can feel as though the music industry itself has shifted, and a bright spark has dimmed. But between Miller’s lengthy discography and the recent rehashes of his old mixtapes, his legacy is like a time capsule that lives on through his music. And so long as it does, his impact on music and listeners everywhere will remain prolific.