On September 7th 2018 my generation lost a music legend. There have been many deaths in the music community that have taken a toll on people’s lives, but I could tell that this one has hit people my age extremely hard. This article isn’t going to be about all the bad issues in Mac Miller’s life, and this article isn’t going to point the finger at addiction or Ariana Grande for his death. This is to remember Mac Miller and his greatness that we all were lucky enough to enjoy.
Mac Miller and the Most Dope Family
Mac Miller had a reality show on MTV2 that aired in February of 2013 and lasted 2 seasons, until its end in September of 2014. This show was something very new and cool for us because we never really got to have an inside look at celebrities’ lives, outside of if they made a documentary. Seeing someone so young gain so much was inspiring to us all. Other than Mac Miller and the Most Dope Family being hilarious, this show let us see that someone close in age to us could accomplish so much and still be just like us.
Mac Miller’s Music
Mac Miller went from Kicking Incredibly Dope Shit on KIDS to giving us a rap/jazz sound on his final album, Swimming. To say he was a master at his craft is an understatement. If I was going to list all of Mac Millers best songs you would be reading this article for many hours. So, I’m going to give you my personal favorites, that I hope takes you back to high school and feeling care free to now when Swimming came out and it blew us all away.
KIDS
If you ask anyone who listened to Mac Miller back in 2010 what their favorite song off of KIDS was, I promise you will not get a straight answer. Some will probably say it’s a 6-way tie between the songs: Nikes On My Feet, Senior Skip Day, Knock Knock, Get Em Up, Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza, and The Spins. This mixtape had so many amazing tracks I still to this day cannot confidently say which one was my favorite. All I know is that hearing him rap these lyrics has put a smile on my face since I was 14 and will continue to do so forever.
Donald Trump
Before these two words became associated with serious negativity and hatred, they were just lyrics to a great Mac Miller song. The lyrics in this song when listened to quickly someone could say it’s just a party song, but it could also be said that this song is about proving yourself to people that doubted you.
Blue Slide Park
This album title is now the place where Mac Miller’s vigil will be held. Blue Slide Park, much like all of his other albums had a positive message of proving people wrong and making sure no matter who was trying to ring you down you always Smile Back. To be honest I wasn’t someone who partied at all in high school but listening to Party On Fifth Ave made me want to go out and live my life to the fullest. That was of course another message I found to be in this album was to live your life to the fullest and always remember where you came from.
Loud
To me one of the most amazing hype songs that there ever will be is Loud off of the mixtape Macadelic. Doesn’t matter if you are cruising around in your car, walking to class, or at a party that song always gets me hype. By the end I would have put the volume up so loud my eardrums would hurt after but the smile on my face was everything to me.
Watching Movies With the Sound Off
For this album Mac Miller retired his snapback and lyrics about partying to level up his way of creating music. This album featured songs like Avian and Watching Movies that had such unique sounds to them almost like you were in a spaceship. While all the unusual noises were happening in the background of most songs you can hear the incorporation of a piano. This album was a defining moment in Mac Miller’s career.
100 Grandkids
When writing this article many songs came to my head of what I should include and how I should phrase it. When going through some of my favorites off of the album GO:OD AM there is a line in 100 Grandkids that made me want to burst into tears. The lyric is “What’s a God without a little O.D.?” Mac Miller has always been open about his drug use it has never been something that was hidden from the world. This song that has this line and has the message of wanting to carry on a legacy through your future grandkids shakes me to my core with sadness that this is something he wanted, but sadly will never be able to do.
The Divine Feminine
Love and jazz are perfect words to describe this album. He was in love and wrote and sang songs to let the whole world know it. One thing that there is to say about Mac Miller is that he was daring. Most artists evolve their sound when creating music but he took a leap into the world of jazz and it paid off. His sound didn’t just evolve, it transcended into a new wave of Mac Miller something bold and beautifully different than what everyone else was doing. This album showed us a new side of Mac Miller and I loved it.
Swimming
Jump all the way to now 2018 Mac Miller gave us the epic album that is swimming. This rap/jazz album was one of his greatest. From the funky jazz beats to the amazing bars I couldn’t have hoped for anything greater.
Mac Miller
He was young, talented, and taken from this world far too soon. If I can do anything for you reading this article is to remember all the good that he gave to us and how lucky we were to grow up listening to his music. He wasn’t just Ariana Grande’s ex or another celebrity that O.D., he was Mac Miller the greatest who ever did it, I’m proud to call myself a fan for life.
Only a month ago Mac Miller gave a Tiny Desk Concert it was beyond amazing. I’ll leave you with what he did best, make music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrR_gm6RqCo
RIP Mac Miller 1992-2018