Artist Overview: Mac Miller
In this article, Jack talks about rap and hip hop artist Mac Miller.
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ARTIST OVERVIEW: MAC MILLer
ARTIST OVERVIEW: MAC MILLer
By Jack Brouillette
By Jack Brouillette
Malcolm James McCormick, otherwise known as Mac Miller, was born on Jan. 19, 1992 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He grew up in a Jewish household with his older brother, mom, and Christian dad. Mac was a self-taught musician and knew how to play the piano, drums, guitar and bass by the age of six. He also started to rap at 14. When he realized that making hip-hop is almost like a job, that is all he did.
In 2007, Malcom dropped his first mixtape But My Mackin’ Ain’t Easy at the age of 15 under the name of Easy Mac. In the year following, he and Beedie, another local rap and hip-hop artist, came together to form a duo, The III Spoken. They released a mixtape titled How High-- yet, shortly after, they split ways to focus on individual careers. In 2009, Malcolm rebranded himself to Mac Miller, releasing two mixtapes: The Jukebox: Prelude to Class Clown and The High Life. After releasing these two mixtapes, he won the 2010 Pittsburgh 21 and Under Rap award, as well as the best hip hop video award for “Live Free”.
Mac Miller photographed by Christian Felber.
In 2010, Mac signed with Rostrum Records, an independent local record label. At this time, Miller started to work on K.I.D.S, a new mixtape. As this mixtape was being made, more record labels were interested in Mac’s music because his style had ‘matured’ from his older pieces, though he kept with Rostrum Records because it was local. Mac focused on social media engagement as well as persistent touring due to the lack of news coverage on him. The following year, Mac released Best Day Ever, with its single “Donald Trump” being the first of his songs to reach the Billboard Top 100, reaching 75th place. With this mixtape, Mac also was awarded a platinum certification from the Record Industry Association of America for this song. On and On and Beyond was released on Mar. 29, just 18 days after Best Day Ever was released. This EP got on the Billboard 200 album charts at 55th place.
Blue Slide Park - Mac Miller
Mac Miller’s debut album, titled Blue Side Park, was released on Nov. 8, 2011. A record-breaking 144,000 sales in the first week put this album at the top of Billboard 200 album charts, the first independent album to reach the top since 1995. Three of the songs made it to the Billboard Top 100, showing how much popularity Mac had gained in a few years. Though his first album did great commercially, many critics and reviews had mixed opinions on it, with The Rolling Stone giving it 2.5/5 stars and, in 2018, the Record Industry Association of America gave it gold, truly showing the mixed opinions people had on this album.
The next year, Mac released Macadelic, his seventh mixtape, with the single “Loud” reaching number 53 on the Billboard Hot 100. In the making of this mixtape, Mac said to "stop thinking about what kind of music he should make and just start saying what he wanted to say." Macadelic had more of a psychedelic influence than his older stuff, with influences from Wally West and SAP. This mixtape featured multiple large artists, including Kendrick Lamar, Lil Wayne, Juicy J and others. Just a couple of months later, Mac released another EP under the name Larry Lovestein, and instead of rap and hip-hop music, it was lounge jazz instrumentals.
In 2013, Mac founded REMember Music, a record label named after a past friend. This label mainly focused on Pittsburgh local artists, including Choo Jackson and himself. Mac’s second studio album, Watching Movies With the Sound Off, was released on June 18, 2013. This album has many features, including Tyler the Creator, SchoolBoy Q, Jay Electronica, Earl Sweatshirt and more, showing how popular he had become in this show time. This album was placed at the third spot on the Billboard 200, and The Rolling Stone gave it 3.5/5 stars. After the release of this album, The Pittsburgh Mayor, Luke Ravenstahl gave Mac a key to the city on Sep. 20, 2013. Declaring Sept. 20 Mac Miller Day. Stolen Youth and Live from Space were released near the end of 2013, two great collaboration albums with Vince Staples and The Internet.
On May 14, 2014, Mac released Faces, his tenth mixtape. Billboard author Colin Stutz said, ”This album shows Miller’s introspective, ruminating over his drug use, fame and past." Mac Miller commented on it himself, saying that this was a point in his life where he heavily used drugs. Later in 2014, Mac signed a distribution contract for REmember music for Warner Bros. Records because “It was the most free-thinking company.” A year later, Mac released GO:OD AM, his third studio album, which charted at number four on the Billboard 200.
Mac wanted to explore more of his love in his next album, The Divine Feminine. This album was a turn in his music style, incorporating less rap and more soulful jazz and funk. This album was about his past experiences with women, and how he has learned from them throughout his life. This album was generally received with positive reviews with Metacritic giving it a 70/100. The Divine Feminine was the start of a three-album trilogy, with his next album continuing said trilogy.
Miller’s fifth studio album was titled Swimming and was released in Aug. 2018, being described as wishful soul and warm funk. This album was received even better than his last, with many critics calling it his best work yet. Swimming debuted at the third spot on the Billboard 200, showing the significance he had gained throughout his career. His last performance, his NPR Tiny Desk, is still cited as one of the best NPR Tiny Desks in history. His performance with his live band and his connection with the audience are both reasons why it is so popular.
On Sept. 7, 2018, Miller was found unresponsive in his home. His personal assistant called 911 and tried to perform CPR until paramedics came, but to no avail. Malcolm was pronounced dead at 11:51 a.m. due to an accidental drug overdose. Over the years, Pittsburgh’s Blue Side Park, the inspiration for his debut album, is still a place of remembrance for him. Mac Miller’s estate approved of posthumous music releases, with Circles, the last part of the three-album trilogy, coming out. This album was released on Jan. 17, 2020 and was completed by Jon Brion. The end of the trilogy of albums marked a point in his life where he was making music that was more personal and emotional rather than his older pieces.
Balloonerism was recorded in 2014, around the same time Faces was produced, but was never released. Camp Flog Gnaw 2024, Balloonerism was teased with a trailer, hyping people up for the unreleased album. On Jan. 17, 2025, Mac Miller released Balloonerism, containing 14 tracks. This album talked more about his frequent encounters with death and drugs, with songs like “Stoned” and “Funny Papers” exploring both those topics. This album got a score of 77/100 by Metacritic, with most reviewers giving it an above average rating.
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