Mac Miller, one of hip hops most influential artists, passed away last Friday. This came as a shock to many from our generation, as we grew up listening to KIDS and Blue Slide Park. When I first heard of his death, I thought it was a joke or a sick publicity stunt. I didn’t want to believe that the guy who helped me get through middle and high school was really gone. I knew he struggled with addiction but I was not aware of how extreme it was. He let us in his head in all of his albums, especially with his most recent, Swimming. He spoke about his struggles with addiction and depression, but you never truly know what is going on in someone’s mind, especially a celebrity.
The impact that Mac Miller had on other celebrities is truly amazing. He received so much support from other artists such as Post Malone, Chance the Rapper, Machine Gun Kelly and Snoop Dogg. Many artists have been paying tribute to him on their tours. J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar both spoke about Miller at their recent concerts, “He always had a smile on his face and that is just something I commend,” Lamar on Rosenburg’s Open Late Show said. They all mentioned how Miller was such a kind soul. He and his family opened his home to many starting artists and others who were just struggling in general. He truly wanted to help whoever, and however, he could.
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Mac Miller had a huge impact on his fan base as well, especially to people in our generation. We were able to see him grow as an artist so his death felt especially tragic. I am still deeply affected by his death. Mac Miller’s music helped me through a lot of dark times, especially his most recent album. He had a way of speaking to me because he was so real. He was an artist I could turn to when I needed help through the bad days or when I was on a long car ride with my best friends. There was no other artist like Mac Miller and there never will be.
Mac Miller’s death should be a big eye-opener for everybody. He made the world aware of what he was going through with his lyrics like many artists do. His songs hinted about his struggle with staying sober and how he did not want to live anymore, “I just need a way out of my head; I’ll do anything for a way out of my head,” were some of his lyrics from Come Back to Earth. His words should be reminding us to always reach out to our friends and family. You never truly know what someone is going through. Simply asking how they are doing, checking in, letting them know you care; it is the little things that can go a long way. As a society, we need to take addiction and mental illness more serious because we are losing too many great people. We need to be easier on celebrities as well; they are real people with real problems and real addictions.
Mac Miller will forever be remembered as a humble, real and charismatic artist. His music will live on forever and remind us of the wonderful person he was. We must learn from Mac Miller- to be more open-minded about other people’s situations, to reach out to our loved ones and to always have a smile on our faces.