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Week 28:
Mac Miller
Artist Introduction
Malcolm McCormick, better known as Mac Miller, is one of my favorite rappers of all time, if not my number one. His revolution from his early days as an extremely fun going “frat rapper” into an emotionally scientific lyricist is one of the best in the industry. Vibes often play a big role in his music, whether it’s extremely upbeat and fast, or really slow and sad. Mac was unfortunately taken away from us way too soon when he unintentionally overdosed on fentanyl at the age of 26. Considering how young he was, he has a ton of music and putting this into 9 songs may have been my biggest challenge yet, but I think this mix gives you a good taste of a bit of everything Mac has to offer. So put your mother fucking thumbs in the air and enjoy the ride that is Mac Miller!
Joe Cascella
Most Popular
The Spins
The epitome of fun and being a kid. This may be the greatest frat rap song of all time. The flow is fantastic, the lyrics are easy going and easy to listen to, the beat makes you wanna vibe and dance. It's simple, it's beautiful. Mac is for sure super young he as he mentions, he literally just graduated High School when this album came out. Crazy for a 17-year-old to have rhythm and flow like this. An all-time party song that should continue to be a staple in college houses across America. Love it
The Weekend ft. Miguel
Some keys and horns to get us going, followed by some decent bars and flow. There’s a lot happening in the background to add value to the production of the song. A good song to get you going for the weekend, and a nice progression in the style of music from Mac Miller
Self Care
An extremely funky chorus to introduce us into a totally different side of Mac Miller. This album was released in 2018, and heavily focuses on many of the struggles that he faced. This album was also released the same year he died, and this song is a massive standout to that depressing album. Even the music video of this song starts with Mac in a coffin, and he slowly continues to try to escape it throughout the song. He addresses that self-care is important, but the reality is that he would rather escape by getting high, as the pressure was often too much for him to handle. The sound of this song is very spacey and psychedelic, almost like Mac is always in a trance. It’s an incredibly artistic song with a ton of meaning. The back half at the 3:20 mark is supposed to be his turnover into a better life, getting out of the way of his own demons. It’s almost reflective of his past self, but then he continuously resorts to his old “safe” ways. The oblivion yeah yeah meshes so well and is a pretty cool sound. This was a massively impactful song to Mac fans who went through the whole ride with him.
Personal Favorites
Knock Knock
Okay back to super fun and young and happy Mac for the next couple, before we deep dive again back into Swimming. Off K.I.D.S, Knock Knock is another party staple and anthem. I talked about having a lot of fun while listening to music when we did the Toby review, and Mac does the same thing in a totally different way. He almost pulls at nostalgia strings and brings you back to a fun going childhood just being with your friends and having a good time. Mac grew up in Pittsburg, and this is what his crew used to do. The music video fits the song perfectly and I’m always down to jam out to this tune.
Best Day Ever
My favorite chorus in any Mac song ever. I just love the perspective of appreciating life and I always try to live in the most positive way possible. It’s so different from a lot of his later music, and I feel like he was finally getting back to his old ways prior to his death, which makes it all that much sadder. His albums allow you to experience all different sorts of emotions, and I wish there was more of this feeling throughout Mac’s life. I listen to this song, and I feel joy and I put life back into perspective to always be appreciative of the positives. Good song, lotta keys and bigger production as well, while still maintaining a simple and beautiful song.
2009
Strings and keys to introduce us into this one, which obviously is a lot deeper and paints the picture surrounding fame. 2009 was the last year before Mac got famous, which changed his life in a very negative manner. Lyrically, this song is very clever and there's a lot to digest. In the first verse, I really like the line “I wish I took a simpler route, instead of having demons as big as my house.” The house is only so big because of the fame and money that comes with the popularity. So, he wishes he stayed low key and lived a simple life in a small house that he grew up in in Pittsburg, instead of having a mansion that comes with all the misfortune of fame. Clever writing that you can easily skip over. The second verse speaks more to him overcoming many of the issues that came with this fame, and that he’s getting back to his old self. “I struck the fuck out but I came back swinging.” He’s documenting his process of prioritizing his mental health, and takes an extremely raw and transparent approach to this song. The emotional feel of the light keys in the background adds an extra element of feeling the true meaning behind this song. It’s extremely well done and a really great track that sums up a lot of his career.
Unique Songs
Good News
So many rappers just have these really hard beats and go punch line after punch line. Not Mac at all, he takes such a unique approach to the production of his sound and creates an overall sound that is way more than just rap. When I was a kid, sad songs only came in the version of heavy rock (often a little more angry), or pop. This still has the elements of a cool rap song that you can vibe to, but pulls at strings that many rappers choose not to do. Rappers want to protect their image and come off as these hard ass dudes, often writing songs about drugs, guns, growing up in the hood and whatever else. Mac’s approach created a new lane of music that we really haven’t heard before, and it’s the reason it became so massively popular. There’s so many heavy hitting lyrics here, in a totally new type of way. I think this is a good version of a unique track that shows us a new genre of music. What can be compared to this?
What's the Use
We all know this music club absolutely loves their bass, so why not throw Thundercat in the mix. A bass driven upbeat song that allows Mac to showcase some of his better modern-day rapping. Another unique element of this song is just overstuffing each line with many rhymes, instead of ending each line with words that rhyme. The entirety of each line is filled with words that mold together so smoothly. There’re multiple rhyme schemes per line, and he mixes and matches his rhymes in different places. It’s really great lyric writing while staying true to the point of the song and matching the pace of bass work. It’s really well put together. Thundercat’s background vocals add a nice little touch towards the end, and then right back into the flow of the song, which is a cool moment. If you get a second, check this one out on Tiny Desk Concert. It’s a really cool moment shared between the two musicians. Good stuff!
Love Lost
Mac’s catalogue has a ton of music samples and collaborations, and for some reason this one is extremely popular right now. I really could’ve gone anywhere with this song, but I thought it was a good and fun way to end this listen. I like mixing the rap with the chorus at the exact same time. There’s a lot going on here, and it still flows so well. Plus, I had to hear it with a light hearted happier song to end the listen on a high note.
Conclusions
Mac Miller is one of a kind. His music is very difficult to compare to anyone else’s. He spans many genres and blends them together incredibly well and smoothly. He can rap, he can vibe, his flow is fantastic, and his music is both digestible and deeply meaningful at times. There are layers upon layers of production that create such a unique sound that feels completely his own. For a guy whose voice is so low and sometimes difficult to understand, he still manages to create elegant and beautiful music. I didn’t get to a ton of my favorite songs because I didn’t want to stay in the same sound for the entire listen. Specifically, I had zero songs from Blue Slide Park, which is such a great album. K.I.D.S. is an all-time favorite project of mine, but much of it carries a similar sound to songs like The Spins and Knock Knock throughout. His progression and evolution as an artist are pretty wild, so this format allowed me to share a little bit of all of that. My score is going to be ridiculously high, but he’s one of my favorite artists of all time, so I’m giving him a 9.4. Thumbs up, enjoy!
Cascella Family Reviews
Vin Cascella
I love Mac Miller but I’m not sure how he is going to hold up within the context of a deep dive. Unlike Joe, who knows Mac’s music very well I am more familiar with his earlier fun loving tracks and only a little of his later and posthumous introspective work. I know most of the songs on this list but I’m looking forward to diving a little deeper into all of them, especially the ones I am not familiar with.
The Spins: An all time great up-beat hip-hop song that is a time capsule of high school and college. This and “The Pursuit of Happiness” by Kid Cudi are two of the most defining songs of that era. There isn’t too much going on but it’s super catchy and fun. And I do like the synth/piano along with the Empire of the Sun sample (more on his mixtape samples later). Pretty solid song from someone so young. Would you look at that, he just graduated high school… HA-HAAAAaaa! Even the goofy ad-libs on the backend and the entirely unserious laughs through the song in the background are a ton of fun.
The Weekend (ft. Miguel): It’s good but not my favorite Mac song. As per tradition I approve of the horns and any additional instruments. Lyrically it's just chronicling the vicious cycle that is his life. Drugs, girls, and burning out all week, and then resetting on the weekend with more drugs, and girls. Tough Life? Actually, probably! I’m happy to get to bed at 9:00 nowadays. But yea, somewhere in between frat Mac and introspective Mac. Not my favorite but not bad.
Self Care: Sonically I like the first half but not the mumbly back half. Lyrically this song is pretty solid though. He knows he’s a wreck but he’s doing what he can to overcome "Oblivion". This song was released only shortly before his untimely death in 2018. Similar to the previous song I like it but it’s not my favorite by Mac and I think it gets propped up a little because of the popularity it got following his passing.
Knock Knock: Another all-time great. It may be a little corny but this is my favorite version of Mac Miller. Fun, upbeat hip-hop without much meaning besides having a good time. And how can you not do a little “Knock Knock” every time the chorus comes back around. Fun fact about this Mixtape, “K.I.D.S” wasn’t released on streaming services until 2020 due to all the logistical nightmares that came with clearing all the samples of the tape. Back in 2010, K.I.D.S was released as a free mixed tape as opposed to a commercial album so he didn’t have to jump through all the hurdles of getting all the samples approved by the respective artists and record labels. After Mac blew up the commercial success of K.I.D.S led to a ton of issues including a settled lawsuit over the sample used in “Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza” and a couple tracks ultimately being removed from the tracklist due to legal constraints. So yea… take that info however you like, I don’t claim I know enough about the industry to have an opinion. The positive I take from this info is that he was able to create such cool and interesting music at such a young age that really struck a chord with the masses. Also he wrote all the lyrics on K.I.D.S, nice.
Best Day Ever: This could be considered a unique track. Entirely different production than anything else on this list. The opening title track of his 5th mixtape this song just builds on where K.I.D.S left off. Lyrically he raps about the changes in his life and the benefits of becoming famous. Cheesy play on word lyrics similar to that of the previous artist we reviewed, Childish Gambino. Just a synth and electronic drums while he builds up his upcoming project. Is it his best work? No. Is it a fun hype song that is the perfect interlude coming off of K.I.D.S into his future work, definitely yes.
2009: Another great arrangement and one of my favorites from Mac. A reflection of the last decade of his life, accepting that every experience good or bad led him to where he is now and that “you gotta jump in to swim”, which is great theming with the “Swimming” album title. I think this song could be taken a lot of ways but I see it as Mac having a positive outlook on his future. Through years of struggle he seems to be at peace with who he has become and where his life has taken him. Which makes it all the more sad knowing that he passed not long after the release of this album. Love the piano in this one.
Good News: The melody reminds me of a few songs. Could be something that Kid Cudi would release and also sounds like “Trouble” by Cage the Elephant. Tough listen as the lead single off his first posthumous album, Circles. He discusses the exhaustion of battling with depression with the external pressure of always having to project positivity and provide “good news”. A theme that I see in a lot of music I listen to (looking at you Paramore). His music never shied away from being open about his depression but this song just hurts a bit extra being released after his passing.
What’s the Use?: Another dope arrangement. I wasn’t sure if Thundercat was the bassist on the album version, but indeed he is. He’s great and deserves his own deep dive one day. The other big memorable track off his Tiny Desk Concert. I think this might be the best production on the entire list. It’s funky, chill, and flows so well. It also might have Mac’s best rapping as he makes a ton of little adjustments throughout the song whether it's the inflections of the words or his overall cadence. It shows how much talent he has. And again the theme of the song talks about his struggles with depression and substance abuse on top of a laid back funky melody. This is one of my favorites on the list but I do have one major issue about the last few songs. He doesn’t enunciate at all, and at times it makes it so hard to understand what he’s trying to convey. Even with the lyrics up I have to pause these songs multiple times to see if I can figure out what the song is about. His voice definitely fits the vibe of his music but damn is it tough to listen to sometimes. Also again,Thundercat is dope.
Love Lost: Another happy melody with sadder lyrics. Did a little googling, the original song from The Temper Trap is about the end of a relationship and recovery while Mac’s version is about the end of a relationship and his decision to focus on his rap career instead of reconciling the relationship. I always like upbeat songs that have depressing lyrics, don’t know what that says about me.
Interesting. Mac Miller is good, sometimes really good. Is he one of the greats? Definitely not. Is he one of the greats at making music for white boys with a little bit of sauce? Definitely yes. Am I a white boy with a little bit of sauce? No, I’m nerdy as shit, I literally write mini essays about musical artists weekly and coded an entire website to catalogue it. In all seriousness, I knew I would enjoy this selection and I wasn’t disappointed. His “frat” rap is some of the best and his serious introspective work is better than I expected. I do have a tough time with his voice when he is being serious. It’s just so hard to understand what he’s saying sometimes. His arrangements are also great. 2009,Good News, and What’s the Use? are the three standouts as far as arrangements go. His use of samples, especially at such a young age is also very commendable. I think Mac Miller for Joe is what Childish Gambino was for me. They’re not the best but they were essential in expanding our music tastes and influences. I graded Childish higher than he probably deserved and Joe will probably grade Mac higher than what he should be. I’m guessing Joe is going to throw out between 8.4-8.6. I however will be going with a 7.7. Not too shabby!
Dad Cascella
All I know about Mac Miller is that he’s one of Joseph’s favorite musical artists. I also know he died very young. I’ve only listened to and watched one of his music videos previously from when I think he was still in high school (which I liked). Other than that, this will all be completely new to me. Let’s dive:
THE SPINS- A song about stealing another guys girl? Catchy tune, with pretty rough lyrics for my generation. But he delivers them well, with an okay voice. Being I don’t know anything about Mac M, I’ll have to look up who or what is K.I.D.S. and Jerm. Ahh!! Kickin’ Incredibly Dope Shit. And Jeremy Kulousek, friend and work colleague. I liked the references. Cool rhymes, good start.
THE WEEKEND (ft. MIGUEL)- Wow, intraspective song lyrics about a fucked up music artist. Brings up, again, Vincents debate whether great artists need to be fucked up to be great? I’m assuming this song was written after Mac M found some level of success. Again, good song delivered well, and I’m getting used to his voice. “Wonderin’ how I got this high, fell asleep and forgot to die”. While this song is again catchy, I found it sad that with all the stress that the work week brought, Mac M. knew he could release it all, thru his vices, on the weekend. Similar story to other artists we’ve reviewed (i.e. Layne Staley).
SELF CARE- Spacey beginning setting the tone for this one, with Mac kinda singing(?), which I wasn’t crazy about. Finally, some rap at 1 minute. Another song about how he knows how to get better, which is giving in to his demons (drugs). And the organ/synthesizer is starting to bug me. At 3:20 mark a change, where he’s living in the world of “Oblivion”. A sad song. At this point my dive ventured into how Mac M died. “Accidental Overdose” is the official cause, after he bought Fentanyl laced Oxycodone. But with cocaine and alcohol in his system, it confirms that, like many artists before him, he and those around him just couldn’t prevent the inevitable.
KNOCK KNOCK- Wow, a Rap/Pop song. Extremely catchy with really good lyrics and his best delivery so far. I just wish there were more verses and less choruses in this one. Absolutely best so far, and a very fun video. And PLEASE, Let Them Crazy-Ass Kids In!!!!
BEST DAY EVER- This one could have been in the “Different/Unique” category because its lyrics are so upbeat. His rhyming in this short, positive message is excellent (even without the printed lyrics, I understood them). Just him again being intraspective and glad to have what he has. It’s kind of sad that he didn’t have more times like these. Real good song.
2009- Is this beginning from a 1950’s movie musical? Truthfully, wasn’t crazy about the first 2 ½ minutes of this one. Then it got so much better. Mac M. rappin’ easily about how this ain’t 2009 no more (I’m guessing about his former fucked-up ways) and feeling better as being sober? Pretty cool Tiny Desk for this one. “I’d rather have me peace of mind than war” and “Nowadays all I do is shine, take a breath, and ease my mind”.
GOOD NEWS- Wait!!! This is the same guy?? I thought it was Post Malone for a minute. Rappin’ and singing? Even though it’s called Good News, I found it to be a sad song with sad lyrics. “So tired of being so tired” should have been the title of this one, cause he sings it tired. I much prefer his rappin’. This one didn’t do it for me.
WHAT’S THE USE- Wow, very cool bass line. I haven’t mentioned any of the music or beats or rhythms in any of these selections so far, because quite frankly, didn’t really hear anything outstanding or different in the music, until now. With a funky vibe throughout, there are some great lyrics in this one. While the choruses were just o.k., the verses, and the way Mac M. delivers them, are so cool. Really liked this one. So after taking my notes and writing most of this songs review, I’m kind of proud of myself. During a deeper dive I found that the bass line, which I liked so much, is performed by Thundercat. A big Yup!!
LOVE LOST- Again, kinda Rappin’/Singing song. I thought I wasn’t supposed to like this, but I found myself tapping and moving during this one. Definitely different musically, as was the last one, and I can’t believe it really worked for me. Short song about a broken romance. Very catchy.
So that’s Mac Miller. First off let me say that even after Eminem a few weeks ago, I’m still not a huge fan of rap. Are the great rappers talented? Absolutely!! They perform unlike any musical artists. It’s just not my kind of everyday listening music. That being said, I believe a disservice was done to young Mac Miller, reviewing him after a monster like Eminem. Kind of unfair. I think you all get what I mean. I found Mac Miller to be clever, introspective, fun, sad, and sometimes very catchy. His lyrics are sometimes great, and I like his delivery when he’s rappin’, not singing. But sometimes I found myself wandering. As for live performances, outside of a couple songs on Tiny Desk, and a few larger stage shows, I didn’t particularly find his live performances great, with so-so stage presence. Maybe I just didn’t find his best live performances, but I did dig fairly deep. Sadly, in the end, another wasted talent, dying so young. I give Mac Miller a 7.0
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Alysa Schraidt • 12d ago
Original Member
Mac was one of the best concerts I've been to and the saddest part was not knowing who he was before going. Fantastic vibe. Not to get political but now all I want to do is ride through the city in a cutlass find a big butt bitch somewhere get my nuts kissed.