The Reflection: Mac Miller’s Career

It’s been two years since the passing of Mac Miller. September 7th, 2018 was the saddest day of my entire life. I can recall exactly where I was at and what my immediate emotions were. TMZ reported it, and I got tagged in a Facebook post by a friend from high school about it. No way this could be remotely true. My favorite artist that I have grown up with since high school? Nope, I refuse to believe it. Plus TMZ has been wrong numerous times before. I put my phone away, but 10 minutes later I had a terrible feeling. “Let me go on Twitter” I say in my own head while I’m ringing out the casual drinkers. Boom, everyone was posting about it. The feeling is like being thrown into a portal and spinning continuously and there is no escape. Soon the texts started flying in, everyone who knows me understands my fandom for Mac Miller.

I had about two hours left of work, the only option was to hold in my emotions. The voice was shaky with each customer buying their booze as I try to control myself. Finally, 6:00 P.M. is here and I can leave that god-forsaken hellhole. I can tell my boss was getting angry with me with each passing minute I am looking down at my phone. As soon as I stepped foot in that car, I put my sunglasses on, threw on “2009” from his Swimming record and balled my eyes out. I had to go to my Megan’s (my girlfriend) house to watch her dog, who comforted me with licking my face with each passing tear rolling down my face (shoutout to Stanny, the realest dog ever).

The next day I was a mess and someone suggested “you should write about this, it will help.” That’s where “The Most Impactful Man I Never Met, Mac Miller” came. It was raw, and you could tell I probably shouldn’t have been writing considering how jacked up the timeline is on the years the albums dropped. With each paragraph, I had to walk away from my laptop and sob as I reminisced on every time he dropped a project. It was heart-breaking to say the least, even though all of those re-counting memories were happier days. But looking back at that article, I feel like I didn’t do my idol justice. Sure, it was authentic but I want it to be factual.

It’s important to note that every single project he dropped is something that related to my life in some capacity. It was crazy to see when something new came out, it would be so needed for my life to progress. I know people say this on the regular, but his music saved me from going through a whole lot of pain. It helped me steer clear of my own dark thoughts, and that’s why this as well as any Mac Miller music I find, whether official projects or leaks, are super important to me. This is an article to take you down a timeline of greatness from when I first started listening to him, and also the time to reflect on his short, but fantastic career.

2010: K.I.D.S. living life

Freshman year of high school was the start of music becoming my life. Growing up, I was basically alone in hip-hop being the only genre I listened to. Everyone in 2014 class generally listened to heavy-metal/screamo. Safe to say that was not my scene. Wiz Khalifa was already being played consistently for me, his charisma and style were so great to me. The name around school from the older kids started to change though, it was all about Mac Miller. Who is that? I went home and looked him up on YouTube, he’s some white kid? I was immediately turned off by it.

However, he is from Pennsylvania I had to at least give him a fair shot. “Senior Skip Day" was the first music video I saw, just some white boy in pajamas rapping about not going to school, smoking weed and eating yogurt. It was kind of cheesy, but the flow was tight. It was enjoyable and then I went down the rabbit-hole. I eventually found K.I.D.S. on DatPiff and I fell in love with it. You better believe I used YouTube converter to put that whole mixtape on my IPod.

The mixtape was carefree, filled with bars about chasing dreams and partying. The intro “Kickin Incredibly Dope Shit" with them dubbing the movie “KIDS” with a part where Telly says “music is all I got, take that away from me and I really got nothing.” It was about how Mac grew up, and how kids should be living their life the way they want. Chase dreams and get wild with friends. He embodied that movie from 1995, minus the AIDS epidemic.

From there he had nothing but viral hits like “Nike’s on My Feet", “Knock Knock" and “Kool Aid and Frozen Pizza". Mac was showcasing his ability to rap on tracks like “Good Evening" and “La La La", make a good party anthem like “Don’t Mind if I Do" or make a more sentimental track like “Poppy”. This mixtape broke me out of my social shell. It made me realize I needed to have more fun with my life, talk to girls and fulfill my dreams. I played it to the point where people were begging me to play anything else. But I couldn’t, I bumped this everywhere I went. It was authentic to who Mac was, and it was the start of something special.

2011: The Fame and Hate, Best Day Ever & Blue Slide Park

With fame and acclaim comes along with some hate; especially when you’re a white kid in hip-hop. Mac was apart of one the greatest XXL Freshman classes in 2011, with the likes of Kendrick Lamar and Meek Mill. He didn’t necessarily “fit in" to a lot of people, as he was known as the “frat-rapper". At the time I thought it was a tad unfair, after all he was 18. It’s not like a young Malcolm McCormick didn’t have bars, but all he knew was the stereotypical teenager stuff which happened to be partying and money.

On March 23rd, 2011 the Pittsburgh rapper dropped Best Day Ever, and he officially entered commercial success. “Donald Trump” would bring him to mainstream heights that saw numbers. The track would go platinum and soon crowds grew larger along with his career. He leaned into that “frat-rap" persona that the industry called him with this mixtape. You can hear it on “Wake Up" or “All Around the World". He speaks on women and haters even more-so than the previous project. But they were hits with the youthful sound that really didn’t have any harm in them. Mac still possessed the ability to rap like on “Get Up" and “Best Day Ever" that still had that juvenile energy behind it. He even penned a heartfelt track about his mother with “I’ll Be There".

But the hating territory took on a new form of life when he dropped his debut album Blue Slide Park. This time, critics didn’t hold back any punches. To be fair, it’s Mac Miller’s worst album in my opinion. All the swagger and coolness factor wore thin with this album. “Party on Fifth Ave" was the lowest musical performance Mac gave. It was corny, but that didn’t mean the album was all bad. “Of the Soul” portrayed that Mac can still be a rapper when he wanted to, instead of chasing mainstream success. “PA Nights" was a jam in the state of Pennsylvania. “Missed Calls" was among the best tracks about this relationship gone sour because of Mac chasing fame. And then you had “One Last Thing", where he chases a different sound as if he was transitioning into a different artist.

The Pitchfork review where Jordan Sargent gave Blue Slide Park a 1.0 was the nail in the coffin. The “bland Wiz Khalifa" line in the article was a low-blow. It was an attack on Mac’s character. I can remember buying the CD and being so excited to listen. Although I didn’t love the album, it was something that stuck with me throughout life. Even if it seemed like he sold-out for the mainstream success, it dis-regarded all the hard work he has put into his career. It made Mac change direction, but also hurt his confidence.

2012-2013 Nonstop Work, Macadelic & WMWTSO

That review must have put a battery in his back, because Mac Miller didn’t do anything but put work in. Macadelic was the mixtape that changed everything for his career that he dropped on March 23rd, 2012. He decided he wasn’t going to make music for anyone but himself. Mac always saw himself as someone who would go different places with his artistry. That’s where Macadelic mixtape comes from. It was the first time he worked with big artists, and the list is huge. Artists such asLil Wayne, Kendrick Lamar, Cam’Ron among other great acts appeared on this tape. “Desperado" has Mac starting off calling out everyone hating on him; from Pitchfork and other bloggers, to flexing about having his own show and even possibly a subliminal diss at Wiz Khalifa. “You ain’t a soldier because you rocking camo" which was Wiz’s style back in the early 2010’s.

He created some of his best songs with “The Question", “Fight the Feeling" and “Thoughts From a Balcony". Mac started discussing the issues he may have like depression and addiction. Yet, it was best lyrical performance to date, while trying a new sound. It was pshycadelic, a little more honest and mature for his audience. It was a breathe of fresh air for his fans and Mac himself. It felt like this should’ve been the debut album.

From there he only furthered that sound with Watching Movies With the Sound Off in 2013. “The Star Room” really leaves a whole in your heart. Mac rapping with undesirable energy to keep going, speaking on feeling like he made a mistake with this music stuff. The opening bar “But me, I’m still trapped inside my head, it kinda feel like it’s a purgatory” sets the mood off for what emotions he is going through. Mac wonders if he lost his way on this track, just knowing all of the things he is doing is taking him down a terrible path.

That doesn’t mean the music isn’t getting better though. That dejected sound continues on tracks like “I’m Not Real”, where Mac sounds like a completely different person. His voice is lowered, sounding as if he is in trip examining his life’s sorrows. “Objects in the Mirror” has Mac testing his singing and crafts this beautifully sad song about his drug addiction as if he is in a committed relationship with it (which I just found out recently). He even makes an emotional song about his friend passing away on “REMember”. In my mind, he is going through a phase of being sad and experimenting with his feelings.

There is still some upbeat tracks like “Red Dot Music” that has some magnificent Alchemist production. The back and forth from Mac and Action Bronson flexing on the whole world, like they are at the height of their careers was special. Especially Loaded Lux clowning Mac with the “Eas-E Mac” name he used to have. “Gees”, “Watching Movies” as well as the bonus tracks had him having more fun, but all seemed like it was a cover up for how he really felt at that time. And sure enough, I was right.

2014: Being Blunt, Faces

A new mixtape was on the horizon following his very successful sophomore album. There was very little hype prior to the release, and honestly I didn’t even find out about it until a week later. And all I needed to hear was the first song of Faces to understand what direction this was going in. “Inside Outside” very first line “Should’ve died already” would ultimately be the foreshadowing that nobody wanted to hear. Mac Miller didn’t hide anything, he had a drug addiction and was facing depression. While the music is great and maybe his best project he has ever produced, it hurts me to my core going through it.

Hearing a song like “Angel Dust” really puts you at spot as a fan where you don’t know whether you should like this honesty or not. There are so many lines that foreshadow how Mac would pass away, and it hurts the soul every time. “On What Do You Do” featuring Sir Michael Rocks has the disastrous bar “A drug habit like Philip Hoffman will probably put me in a coffin” that made me pause the track and walk away. “San Francisco” has a brutal line “Suppose I’ll die alone from an overdose of some sort” and that is exactly what happened. It’s a gut-wrencher, hearing him describe his exact death four years before it actually happens.

With all of that being said, this is some of Mac’s best work ever. He had never wrote better than this at that point in his career, mixing in his up-and-down emotions of going through his drug phases. “Here We Go” is Mac boasting about his great career, he did it all without a Drake or Jay Z feature. He didn’t need it. “Diablo” might have been Mac’s best writing, I would have to quote the whole damn song. He explodes on that track, absolutely relentless on the flow and delivery. “Therapy” has Mac building up some type of happiness from releasing all of his problems in this very song. “Wedding” has this calming affect on you, feeling like you’re floating on clouds. The subject matter still has it’s dark moments considering he is somewhat fighting with this girl despite being obsessed with her.

Then you have “Funeral”, which Jesus Christ this shit is sad. Mac is basically accepting death in the most gracious way. It’s not even fathomable how sad this bar is, “I heard the legends never died, oh this lonely hell of mine
There never was a better time to better myself”. Mac is just accepting the fact that happiness is futile. I can go on and on about this mixtape, from “Rain” with more reflections of drug addiction and insane Vince Staples verse, to “Insomniak” that had banging production and Rick Ross being butt-naked with his chopper. But the last two tracks end the album on a strong note. “New Faces v2” has Mac and Earl Sweatshirt really giving in their best efforts to destroy this lighter beat. “Grand Finale” has this peaceful sound that Mac can relay some bars about accepting life’s struggles and what it will cause him to become. The foreshadowing on Faces is an exact illustration of what turned to be true.

2015–2016: Finding Joy, GOOD AM & Divine Feminine

After leaving Rostrum Records to sign with Warner Bros, it seemed like another shift was happening. Mac’s life seemed to finally start coming together, and in 2015 he dropped GOOD AM. A more confident Mac Miller shined throughout this album. He wasn’t stressing anything anymore, like he took a deep breathe and enjoyed everything in front of him. It is a wake up call for Mac, and the bright sound he gives on “Brand Name” has a special vibe to it. From there you had the single “100 Grandkids” which oozes with confidence and bravado that we haven’t heard in a few years. We also haven’t heard a radio hit like “Weekend” featuring Miguel in a long time either.

Mac goes on a crazy streak of rap bangers from “Weekend” to “Break the Law” with tight flows and being in his bag with catchy hooks and lines about fucking hoes and drinking tiger blood. “Perfect Circle / God Speed” is the first track on the album to fully reflect on the terrible times he went through and shouted all of his family members, homies and girlfriend at the time for being there for him through the tough times. It’s an emotional track that almost sounds like Mac might tear up halfway through. After that, he picks the energy right back up with “When In Rome” which is just another banger. You also have “Cut the Check” with Chief Keef which was a great pairing of two guys spitting about their worth in the game. Mac towards the end tests his singing, like he is hinting at what the next project could be.

And then he makes The Divine Feminine, another god damn switch up. Mac is testing the waters of the music he can make, and this time he is experimenting what his emotion of love can make. His desire of women is strong, and it starts off with grande production about a past lover on “Congratulations”. It’s atmospheric and plucking heart-strings sound made for a gorgeous intro. From there, “Dang!” would come into the fold with Anderson Paak which happened to be a magical pairing. The two singing about their relationship struggles but the love being so pure that they can’t leave each other.

Some amazing tracks and features appear here, like “Stay" with this jazz-infused beat to hold Mac’s passion for this woman that he wants to be with. The line “you so complicates, I swear that pussy Grammy-nominated" does this woman the best justice. Well done. “Cinderella” with Ty Dolla Sign is eight minutes of pure fire. The two have incredible chemistry in the first half of the song, and the switch-up is the winding down of what seems like this extravagant night they have had. So many great features like Njomza, Cee-Lo Green, Ariana Grande and Kendrick added beautiful hooks to this album. Mac being with Ariana definitely helped make this piece of work, but he was still authentic in who he is.

2018: His Last, Swimming

Man. This was going to be his last project he would release while he was alive and we didn’t even know it. At this point it was probably the longest time since Mac has released anything. Maybe I was just spoiled by him with music dropping every year since I followed him, because my anticipation was through the roof. 2017 passes, no music at all. There is probably just a lot on his plate, he had the DUI, the breakup and touring the world. But one day he dropped “Buttons", “Programs" and “Small Worlds", a little care package to hold us off for a few months. Mac was playing with a jazzy rap sound lately and it was like he was testing his fans with those tracks to see what album he would drop.

And then drops Swimming. It gives me pains all through my body putting this on sometimes. Hearing the opening line on “Come Back to Earth" where Mac sings “My regrets look just like texts I shouldnt send" is rough. Mac would always be honest about how he was feeling and it was appreciated. Yet, seeing him go back to being hurt didn’t sit right with me. It felt like he was making great strides, and then boom back to singing about getting out of his own head. As if he was begging for someone to help him. This wasn’t a regular rap album, instead it was Mac once again testing the waters. This jazz/funk production would be something you can hear from a Thundercat. His passion for singing was complete, he had found his voice.

“What’s The Use?” doesn’t have Mac singing with power, but softer sound let’s the funky beat have it’s own voice in a way. “Wings" has the Pittsburgh native sounding dejected, like he is on the album cover. Then on the very next song “Ladders" its uptempo beat gives Mac something to wake up and be excited for. I wish I can a professional review besides “I love this fucking song" but that’s all I got for you. There are so many aspects to pull from this album about his mental state, and “Jet Fuel" paint a vivid picture of that state. “Liquor still in my cup, get faded when I wake up, cause everything is too much, so what?”. This track has another dejected feeling to it, like Mac stays in this depressive rut.

There are three tracks off of here that make this album for me. The single off the album “Self Care" was the first indicator of where Mac was at mentally. The first half of the song expresses him losing his mind, but reeling it back in the second half sounding almost unstoppable with the heroic production. Then there is “Dunno" which I hate that be that person with speculations, but it sounded like it was about Ariana. Its spacey, sentimental vibe has Mac penning his feelings towards the pop sensation and how their relationship is. And then there is “2009", and once again tears stream down my face. The song is gorgeous, it’s angelic music and vocals from Mac. It’s some of his best singing, seeming like he is going to be alright from this whole situation. This album front to back is beautiful, and it’s a testament to artistic value in the game and what lengths Malcolm would go to expand his palette.

Sept, 7th 2018- Present: What Carries On

That day is still indescribable for me, no words can ever portray the pain I felt that day. I despise that day with a passion. Why him? Why so early? What was the reasoning? My favorite artist passed too soon and it is still the toughest thing to deal with. I hate that feeling knowing every time this date rolls around, it will never be happiness. My idol made music to last a lifetime and I am beyond grateful for that. I got to hear the numerous amounts of phases Mac Miller was going through.

I got to experience Mac live in concert in 2015 for his GOOD AM tour, right before my parents found out about my wonderful 1.7 GPA my sophomore year of college. I went in that small venue and jammed out with Mac, especially while “When in Rome” was playing. Nothing mattered after that moment, I didn’t care how much trouble I was about to get in. I had the privilege to follow his career basically from the beginning minus two mixtapes.

Because of Mac Miller I got to know and love so many artists. Vince Staples and Thundercat were the main two, even though they had buzz around them before Mac. He worked with so many artists, that it was hard for me to not go check out these artists like Sir Michael Rocks music in depth. I would have never known about Njomza or EarthGang without Malcolm.

Since his passing, there has been an album dropped Circles that I have reviewed this year. It was the perfect closer to an amazing career. The one thing I probably needed was closure, and that’s exactly what this gave me. It also proved that once again he can tackle any sort of genre at hand and test the boundaries of what he can do. Since that woeful moment of the 1.0 rating, he has proven more people wrong than he could have imagined.

There will always be a special place in my heart for Mac Miller. His music and personality resonated with me to this day, always will. He was loved by many, the posts about his death made that beyond clear. It hurt the hip-hop community and his fans still can’t believe his passing. I haven’t been to Pittsburgh ever, and I was hoping that this was the year I’d go. Unfortunately with everything going, it’s best I wait until 2021. One day I will visit Blue Slide Park. One day I will be able to handle the pain that comes with his passing. And one day I will meet my idol and spark a conversation. Thank you, Malcolm McCormick aka Mac Miller.

Here’s some pictures of Mac I have saved throughout the years