The one artist Mac Miller always played when he was sad
Bursting on the scene in the early 2010s with his unbelievably fun, tongue-in-cheek rap mixtapes that so deliciously combined the era’s college rap genre with the then-teenager’s sunny, confident vibe, Mac Miller was already something of a hip-hop legend even before he became a heavyweight.
His early mixtapes K.I.D.S. (Kickin’ Incredibly Dope Shit) and Best Day Ever became the soundtrack to the period’s waxing indie sleaze, increasingly optimistic hipster zeitgeist, while his debut album, Blue Slide Park, was the first independently distributed album to top the Billboard 200 in over a decade in 2011.
From then, as fans will know, the rapper just went from strength to strength. The industry and its listeners watched – listened? – to Miller maturing from a frat boy’s favourite MC to a distinguished and respected music maker whose celebrated lyrics explored vulnerable themes of heartbreak, addiction, and mental health struggles.
As the years roll on, discourse surrounding mental health – men’s mental health, especially – has evolved, but in the 2010s, Miller was notable for being particularly open about his struggles. In an interview with Complex magazine on his favourite albums, Miller noted one record in particular he would listen to down he was down.
“Bob Marley makes me happy,” he said. “I realized, if you’re ever sad [just play Bob Marley.] Like this one time, when I was in Las Vegas, we were going crazy with the Molly and then having a horrible come down. It was really bad, postpartum depression. Bob Marley saved everyones life. It was eight in the morning and everyone in the whole hotel room was dancing, singing Bob Marley together.”
His favourite albums, of which he discussed a neat 25, speak to Miller’s love of music and highlights albums outside of hip-hop. The first listed was Bob Dylan’s The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, where Miller describes the 1963 folk album as “I love that record. I love that cover art. I really love Bob Dylan”.
Miller lists rap albums such as 50 Cent’s 2003 Get Rich or Die Tryin’, Lil Wayne’s 2007 Da Drought 3, and Kanye West’s Graduation of the same year. Of the latter, Miller says: “It’s a great album. I remember the impact of it. The one thing I love about Kanye is he’s one of the people I can remember listening to from the beginning. Maybe not as like his own mixtape shit because I was young and not in the mixtape game, but I’ve listened to every Kanye album as its been released and that’s why I like Kanye a lot.”
Other highlights of the interview include the Pittsburgh-raised musician detail a John Lennon tattoo he has, when describing his love for the Beatles; his adoration for Prince, saying “Prince is my idol, that’s who I aspire to be”; Portishead’s 1994 Dummy record as “fucking incredible”; and D’Angelo’s Brown Sugar, which “makes me so happy and makes me feel so good. It like, goes through your veins. Get it? Brown sugar is heroin. It’s like a drug in itself.”
Of course, Miller tragically died at the age of 26 from a drug overdose. For an industry studded with drugs and death, his premature passing was particularly painful for both his peers and his fans. Many of his friends within the industry took part in a tribute concert in Los Angeles, in which proceeds raised money for the newly established Mac Miller Circles Fund, a charity to support youth arts programs in his memory.