Mac Miller most authentic artist of our time

Posted Nov. 28, 2022

By Katie Liang

Staff Reporter

American rapper and record producer Mac Miller is indisputably one of the greatest and most authentic artists of our time. If not for his death, he would've lived on to accomplish and contribute so many more incredible projects to the music industry.

"The best white rapper" Malcolm James McCormick, commonly known as Mac Miller and formerly Easy Mac, started his rapping career when he was just 15 years old, soon to become one of the most prominent artists on the Pittsburgh hip hop scene. Through 13 mixtapes, two EPs, 41 singles, two live albums, and six studio albums, he hadn’t produced a single bad song. What I saw as his most admirable quality and the reason why he was such a loved musician was his versatility. His discography ranged from rap, R&B and soul, pop, and funk. The Divine Feminine, Circles, & some selections from Swimming illustrated his exemplary ability to produce non-rap songs, allowing for a larger fan base. Whether music fans liked hip hop or not, there was a Mac Miller song for all of them.

After listening to his first mixtape But My Mackin Ain't Easy released in 2007, it's obvious Miller was born to make music. Beginning his career at 15 with such an impressive first mixtape and only improving since then really makes him a special talent. In his 2010 mixtape K.I.D.S., both timeless & nostalgic, we experienced Miller's breakthrough in the rap scene. It doesn't have the most deep and emotional lyrics, but it does its name with playful, youthful, silly story telling. Fast forward five years, Miller bestowed upon us GO:OD AM. He was never afraid to be vulnerable in his music; there was always a life lesson or just him expressing his feelings. Miller was truly a real, genuine artist. 

The Divine Feminine is a more intimate album and breaks down the barriers between women's perspective of love and the universe. He opened with possibly the most magnificent, Godly intro piece Congratulations featuring Bilal. The song is about a girl he was deeply in love with during their youth, someone who reminds him of the color blue and is too divine to be his. Congratulations is enough to make a grown man cry. The album has so many layers and Miller was very thematically concise throughout each track. Subsequently, he released a zero-skip album Swimming in 2018 with another astounding intro track and also a personal favorite, Come Back to Earth. Swimming was Miller's journey from intense heartbreak and his healing process, abandoning his frat rap persona. He died from a drug overdose just a month after its release. 

Three more albums were released after his passing. It's impossible to capture the complex music genius that is Mac Miller in just 450 words, but we'll continue to honor the impact he made on the world and recognize the fatal effects of addiction. Rest in peace, Malcolm James McCormick.