Mac Miller dies at 26

Young artist’s legacy lives on in the remnants of his former musical career

Dorothy Dark / A&C Editor / The USD Vista

On the morning of Sept. 7, well-known musician Mac Miller was found dead in his Los Angeles, Calif. studio apartment. Malcom James McCormick (also known as Mac Miller) created music which carried him through a lengthy career, beginning when he was fourteen and living in Pittsburgh, Pa. After working his way to a contract with Rostrum Records, the young Jewish rapper and producer left his mark on the rap community with a steady progression of albums. From “Blue Slide Park” to his most recent release “Swimming” emerged a chronicle of Miller’s journey from musical adolescence to the achievement of a product unlike anything else in the industry.

In his earlier years, Miller offers youthful energy which manifests in notable hits such as “Donald Trump” and “Best Day Ever.” The sound lacks the maturity he later found, but established Miller as an artist who can keep up with the fast pace of his genre while remaining in touch with his artistic persona. His initial success catapulted him into his career, and his immediate success developed into an unapologetic confidence that littered his songs. This attitude became a theme in his music. One of the greatest examples of his immense confidence and deep awareness is off of his 2015 album “GO:OD AM.” “In the Bag” is an upbeat testament to the artist’s self-assuredness, but the lyrics remain grounded in reality. “There’s just something about the money, make a motherf***er crazy, when I die, bury me in my mercedes, God d**n.”

He laid a foundation of witty yet insightful lyricism and complex sound that never lingers in one particular realm. Sometimes it drifts between genres, but without distracting from each one’s individual appeal. This continuation of experimentation carried Miller through the entirety of his career. The young artist grew further into his own creativity with each consecutive album release.

When he put out “Watching Movies with the Sound Off,” Miller solidified his promise of complete honesty with his listeners by providing songs like “REMember.” A mourning Miller lays himself before an audience, starting the song by addressing a close friend who passed away in September of 2012: “I hope you’re proud of me, dude I grew to be, ingenuity influenced by your eulogy.” Still, Miller holds on to his light charm, ending the verse with “You had a girl, I kinda wish you knocked her up, so I could meet your son and talk you up.” The humor does little to drown out the sorrow in his lyrics, but the young rapper brings more of himself to the piece with these small additions. He ends the song adding, “Cause way back then I didn’t know s**t, and I don’t know s**t now, and when the whole world is lookin’ hopeless, Imma still hold s**t down.”

Mac Miller pushed himself further as an artist with the release of his 2016 album “The Divine Feminine.” establishing himself as capable of more than brief radio hits. Featuring notable names such as Kendrick Lamar and Anderson .Paak, the album offers something beyond traditional Mac Miller. Each track is a variation of what the rapper has produced before and his growth is truly a joy to hear. His confidence somehow grows as the album provides ten tracks which prove his ability to do something more.

Despite the album’s success, his latest album “Swimming” marked the peak of his music career. He brings more of himself to his music than perhaps ever before, with tracks that reflect all facets of his creative personality. This is evident in the intimacy of Miller’s lyricism, drawing from deep corners of his life in songs like “Self Care” and “Dunno.” The slow track to “Dunno” is met by Miller’s dragging voice as he mumbles through the line “Baby we don’t need a trip, we could be right here, when the s**t get weird, we could switch up gears, I wanna see them lips, kissin’ from ear to ear, I wanna hear your song, I wanna feel just how you feel.” Again, his audience is reminded that the young rapper’s work of sharing himself with anyone willing to listen knows no limits.

“Small Worlds,” which he released as a single a few months prior, works as a confessional of sorts in which Miller admits certain failures and simultaneously brings forth resolution. The first line is all-encompassing: “I think I know it all but I don’t.” And this goes on. “I know I probably need to do better, f**k whoever, keep my s**t together, you never told me being rich was so lonely, nobody know me, oh well, hard to complain from this five-star hotel.”  Further along, Miller finds peace with what he’s uncovered: “Drawing shapes and lines of the world we made, tomorrow may be right around the corner, but I swear it’s gonna be worth it if I make it wait, there’s somewhere above, you keep reachin’ up, that’s really all it takes.”

The album goes on to bring more and more of Miller’s conscience to the surface. “2009” has a similar effect. At the end of its first verse, Miller says “Isn’t it funny? We can make a lot of money, buy a lot of things just to feel a lot of ugly, I was yay high and muddy, lookin’ for what what was lookin’ for me.” Despite his artistic growth, his suave confidence still shines through in lines like “See you and me, we ain’t that different, I struck the f**k out and then I came back swingin’, take my time to finish, mind my business, a life ain’t a life till you live it.” “Swimming” captured Miller at his best, and the openness with which he offered himself to the final product was essential to the album’s substance.

Miller had a clear understanding of what he wanted his music to sound like. Music has long served as a means of human expression, but it evolved into a medium which stretches across all boundaries to better communicate the greatness of variation in human experience. It demands an attentiveness to one’s place in this world, and it works as a remarkable reminder that other people happen to feel the same way too. If you’re honest, people listen. Mac Miller was honest with his audience, and his art reflected his sincerity.

Miller’s music is available for streaming on all major platforms.