Noa Graham
September 7, 2018, marked yet another tragic day for lovers of hip hop and music generally. In just under three months since the death of Jahseh D.R. Onfroy, or “XXXTentacion,” artists worldwide must mourn the passing of the seminal Malcolm McCormick, a.k.a. “Mac Miller,” perhaps not even having had the time to accept the former loss.
For fans, it’s a very hard pill to swallow. Mac Miller wasn’t topping billboards, so he may not have had the same amount of mass-appeal as artists like Travis Scott. Nevertheless, Miller’s death is an incredible loss for the music industry. The astounding chorus of voices that have spoken up to testify their respect for Miller’s work demonstrates this.
When it comes to the death of a young artist, the loss doesn’t solely lie with their fans, friends and family. Our collective culture, the many milestones it could have passed through, evaporate from our present timeline’s future.
One of the greatest ways an artist contributes to society is how they challenge the status quo, developing on the foundation they discovered their art on. Every musical artist you know is aware of this, as they strive to push the boundaries themselves.
On top of that, Miller is exceptionally young for his achievements. Born January 19, 1992, he celebrated his 26th birthday this year. The artists we know as hip-hop staples today are usually older, so it says a lot about how Miller could have developed his craft further. Miller has collaborated with big names like Kendrick, Action Bronson, Joey Bada$$, as early as 2012, when he was only around 21, an age many of us share.
I sat down with my good friend Marcus Corasanti ’19, a die-hard Mac Miller admirer, to talk about some of his thoughts after Miller’s passing. I felt he shared some exceptional insight. What I learned was that one of the great things about listening to Miller Miller is appreciating his ability to toe the line between being down-to-earth, in a larger-than-life way.
He rapped about being confused and being lost in the adolescent haze, while also navigating the dangers of stardom and fame. Amongst that angst is the gift of being able to acknowledge your troubles, while also letting go to live on, to grow. The nostalgia in Marcus’s voice was palpable when he said, “I have specific memories tied to his songs. My friends and I would be hanging out, listening to his stuff, and feel free…The amount of people that grew up with him… It really feels like we lost a friend… I just couldn’t believe it those first couple days.”
It’s especially painful that Miller passed as a result of overdose, because Miller’s drug problem was an ongoing theme in his music, especially in his 2014 album “Faces” (2014), where the literal first words on the EP are “I should have died already.” Miller released his latest album the same day as Travis Scott’s “ASTROWORLD,” titled “Swimming.” The day before Miller passed, he tweeted, saying “I just wanna go on tour” and “I wish [the tour] started tomorrow… It starts October 27.”