Mac Miller: More Than An Artist
Over the last few days, I’ve been trying to find the words to describe the loss of Mac Miller. Beyond being a great musician and artist, it appears, by all accounts, he was also a genuinely amazing human being. And now, at 26 years old, a beautiful soul was taken from the world. No warning, no time to prepare.
I am not the average fan of Mac Miller. I did not grow up with his music, having him in my ears throughout my formative years. No, I was the opposite: I shunned Mac’s music for all of my teenage years. That was the case until 2016 when he released the soulful The Divine Feminine.
From that point forward, I was a Mac Miller fan and loved hearing new music from him.
His latest album, Swimming, is his best work yet. It takes the soul of The Divine Feminine and cranks it up while still providing moments for Mac Miller to highlight his rap skills. This was the first part of all of this that made it so hard to have him go. It felt like with each project, the young man from Pittsburgh was growing and maturing. As he matured, so did his music and that meant that the music could only get better. From a purely artistic perspective, it was hard from the start knowing that someone who brought so much joy with his art was gone.
The hardest part to grapple with though was that it appears, by all indications, this was not an overdose due to the mistakes of a grieving man. Mac Miller seemed to be happy in his life, despite what people might claim. He was doing press runs for his album and seemed excited to have the world hear his new project. He was just a kid, much like myself, not even in his 30s, just enjoying life and something went wrong. This was a happy young man who brought joy to the lives of millions, and even more to those he knew closest, snatched away.
But I do not want to dwell on such negatives and sorrows; it feels inappropriate how I have done so already considering the joy Mac Miller brought, and that is how I want him to be remembered. To his closest friends, he was a beacon of positivity. He supported them through and through, never wavering in his love for his family and friends. He helped as many artists as he could, using his platform to elevate artists like Chance the Rapper, Vince Staples and The Internet into major cultural relevance. Every single life he came in contact with was better because he was in it.
For the fans, it is hard to truly quantify his impact. The number of lives he likely saved as a result of his music alone can never be fully counted, and the happiness those families share because of Mac Miller can never be taken away. Mac Miller was a great role model for kids to aspire to be and always tried his best to not tarnish that image.
Mac was loved to a point that not many artists are able to achieve, not just by his fans, but by his peers. We will remember Mac Miller for that, and he will continue to spread love in the world because of what he did while he was still in it.
Rest in peace Mac Miller. You will be missed, but never forgotten.
David Arroyo is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email arroyodavid01@gmail.com.