Sep 8, 2018

for anyone interested

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/mac-miller-was-trying-to-be-better-obituary-721106/

@WPGHive

 

Sep 8, 2018

@WPG u ever interview or meet Mac?

 

Sep 8, 2018

i never formally interviewed him but yeah we would run into him around the city. his publicist, w whom he was very close, is a friend

 

Sep 8, 2018

Good piece.

Would you say Mac's commitment to making better art came at the cost of his mass appeal? That might sound obvious, but I don't think he was ever as ubiquitous after that turn. Even his major label output didn't reach those same peaks.

 

Sep 8, 2018

i'm not sure. i think mass appeal stopped being his goal, which was good for his art, but i'm not sure the ubiquity of the early days was sustainable –– the stuff that sounds like his 2010-11 work (or sounds like a 2018 version of that) has its audience, but is not as big as it was, you know? for one, album-oriented rap is in a better place; second, festivals/festival culture are as big as ever but are no longer driving popular music (outside of run the jewels lol).

 

Sep 8, 2018

Good point. Might've cost him in the short term, but kept him relevant past that mini-era.

 

Sep 8, 2018

i do think The Divine Feminine was him swinging for the fences a bit but it was a style that suited him well enough to the point where, when it wasn't a huge hit, it still sounded like a mac miller album

 

Sep 8, 2018

@WPG this is super impressive that you wrote this in only a day. Awesome article.

I'll admit, I wrote off Mac Miller early on, and thought he was a corny rapper. In like 2015 I started listening to Macadelic, Faces and Watching Movies (I believe it was you and @M.I.C. who were the ones really promoting dude's music). And I fell in love with those 3 albums, then GO:OD AM came out, and loved that one too.

But, I really thought Mac was reaching another level with Divine Feminine. Like he was really finding his niche and a sound that worked perfectly for him as he matured.

And I hate to make it all about his music (because I honestly feel Mac was a genuine person. Even though he was smart and creative, he also seemed like a naive and innocent kid)., But i really feel like SWIMMING and Divine Feminine was him JUST scratching the surface to his full potential. I thought this kid was destined for one of the greatest runs in hip hop history. He's one of the very few cases of a rapper/hip hop artist getting better with age.

 

Sep 8, 2018

yeah i thought he was rounding into himself on Swimming.

 

Sep 8, 2018

it's not even to say he wasn't a great, well rounded artist before hand, because I felt Watching Movies showcased so much versatility...

But I thought he was reaching a totally new level on DF/Swimming.

It's such a f---ing shame.