You Were Easy Mac With the Cheesy Raps
Remembering Mac Miller
"You was Easy Mac with the cheesy raps
Who the fuck is Mac Miller?"
- Loaded Lux
Delusional Thomas, Easy Mac, Larry Fisherman, Larry Lovestein & The Velvet Revival. These were the alias used by musician/producer/rapper Malcolm James McCormick e.g. Mac Miller. An artist of a generation who sadly passed away at the age of 26 on the 7th of September 2018.
Universally loved and adored for not only being a great musician but also for being an even better person, the news of his passing came as a shock and brought sadness to many. The loss of Mac Miller not only effected his friends and fans but the whole culture as well. Nowhere was this impact felt more than in his home city of Pitsburg were candlelit vigils took place at Frick Park, which has unofficially been renamed 'Mac Miller's Blue Slide Park' in referral to Mac Miller's debut album 'Blue Slide Park'.
Mac Miller will never be remembered for being 'just another rapper' as his discography is easily one of the most diverse seen this decade by any musician, in rap or any genre for that matter. Starting his music career at the age of 15 under the moniker Easy Mac, his music was typically shoebox-ed under "frat rap", a label he struggled to shirk until his ambitious second album 'watching movies with the sound off' in 2013.
Released on the same day as Kanye West's 'Yeezus' and J. Cole's 'Born Sinner', arguably two of the biggest rap records of the year, the experimental 'watching movies with the sound off' would have Malcolm James McCormick never again be remembered as "Easy Mac with the cheesy raps", but instead forever be known as Mac Miller, a musician to be taken seriously. Gone were the days of rapping about crushing brews with the boys in the dorm room, or about letting girls 'wear his hat' and in its place came deeply introspective raps about love, loss, and substance abuse that felt personal while also being relatable to any young person no matter their background.
In the same year, we saw Mac Miller successfully pull off the infamously hard challenge of releasing a live rap album 'live from space' with the (now hugely famous) funk/RnB/soul band the Internet providing the lush instrumentation for Mac Miller to go crazy over. A highlight from the record is the song 'Watching Movies' which transports the listener to the madness that would be a Mac Miller Live show.
From here Mac Miller went from stage name to a household name especially in his home town of Pitsburg where he was presented with the key to the city. While Mac Miller continued to grow in popularity, this was also a very important time for Malcolm James McCormick the man behind the stage name. We saw Malcolm take risks creatively whilst remaining (at the time) anonymous by releasing music under an alias. From the trap-inspired beats produced on Vince Staples 'stolen youth' mixtape created under the alias Larry Fisherman to the crooning love songs over self-produced jazz released on the 'you' EP under the alias Larry Lovestein & The Velvet Revival.
Throughout the decade, Mac Miller continued to impress with albums such as 'GOOD A: M' and the 'Devine Feminem' dealing with an extensive list of themes, however, it's the last album before his unfortunate death, 'Swimming' that deserves the title of his magnum opus. The album deals with themes isolation and addiction but also what it means to try, to fail, and to try again, while also coming to terms with life's failures and to grow from them. The album was released several months before his death, and yet somehow the album feels like his swansong.
Mac Miller will be remembered as one of the greats, and nowhere was this more clearly seen than during the 'Mac Miller: a celebration of life' concert. Here we saw the who's who of the music industry playing in remembrance of their friend and collaborator with acts such as Action Bronson, Anderson. Paak, Chance the Rapper, John Mayer, J.I.D., Miguel, Njomza, Schoolboy Q, SZA, Thundercat, Travis Scott, Ty Dolla $ign, Domo Genesis, Dylan Reynolds, Earl Sweatshirt, Thundercat and Vince Staples performing.
Mac Miller made an impact on my life in more ways than one and his passion for inventing his own realities through music are evident. Artists can reel you in with their music, however it is the ones that make you want to stay-regardless of the bumps and pot holes a long the way-that are truly brilliant.
Mac Miller was so many things: inventor, creative dreamer, musical genius, brother, son and friend. Something that is heard time and time again is that above all of this, was that he was kind. RIP Mac Miller.
Source: https://medium.com/@harrymoncrieff/remembering-mac-miller-ae6c8dd8c9d7
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