The story behind Mac Miller’s ‘Suplexes Inside of Complexes and Duplexes’
The music of Mac Miller took a turn in 2012. The Pittsburgh rapper bade farewell to the youthfulness of K.I.D.S. and Blue Slide Park to pave the way for the next chapter of his career. Macadelic was one of his first adventures into psychedelia, but it was Watching Movies with the Sound Off where this was fully actualised.
Released in 2013, his second studio album was stacked with guest features and accomplished producers like The Alchemist, Clams Casino, Pharrell, and Flying Lotus. However, the project also provided an opportunity for Mac to showcase his own production as Larry Fisherman. One of the project’s most memorable tracks is the self-produced ‘Suplexes Inside of Complexes and Duplexes’.
The 12th song on the album finds Mac revealing his frustrations with people who coast through life. Instead of living that way, he intended to live outside of societal norms and do whatever he wanted with his time on earth. At the same time, he acknowledged that conscious rap doesn’t always perform well financially or when it comes to romantic relationships.
In the first verse, he raps, “I’m sick of bein’ too nice to people who don’t do shit but consume light/ Told myself, ‘Fuck the world, kid, just do what you like/ Go and have a food fight, start yourself a new life/ You’re too bright to be inside a bunch of mediocrity/ But all those big words ain’t gon’ get you paid/ And those abstract ideas for sure won’t get you laid.'”
With just two verses and no choruses, ‘Suplexes Inside of Complexes and Duplexes’ truly puts lyricism at the forefront. There aren’t many better ways to present that than with a Jay Electronica verse. The ‘Exhibit C’ rapper has always been elusive, but Mac managed to track him down for a verse – not without some difficulty.
More than anyone, Mac knew about his mysterious tendencies and wasn’t 100% sure he was here in the physical world. “Jay Electronica may or may not be a real person,” he joked with NahRight. “He might be just an energy. He might be invisible. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s just a spirit. We all have a little Jay Electronica.”
Jay’s verse is littered with The Wizard of Oz references, using mentions of the Wicked Witch of the West, Dorothy Gale, Kansas, and Aunt Em to help tell a typically complex tale relating to his own life. The New Orleans artist nearly missed out on the opportunity to deliver his bars, submitting his verse just hours before Watching Movies with the Sound Off was finalised.
“He sent me the verse two hours before I went in to master it,” Mac explained. “The album was done, and I was like, ‘Bro, the album is done. Tell me now if you’re gonna do this. No hard feelings if you can’t, I completely understand.’ He was like, ‘I promise you.’ And he would be sending me texts just randomly throughout the whole album process, like, ‘Don’t turn your album in without me.’ The whole time, we’d been talking about doing this record.”
Mac was particularly happy that, after sending him three different songs, he picked one that he produced himself. Before recording the track, Jay sent the lyrics to him in an email. From that moment, Mac knew he was in for something special. Over 12 years later, the song remains a highlight in his catalogue, just as he was really finding his feet.