Coles Born Sinner. 2015s GO:OD AM suffered a similar fate, being bumped from No. 1 on release week in large part because of Drake and Futures surprise collab tape What A Time To Be Alive (which, lets face it, definitely hasnt aged as well as Macs third studio album).His fans, who had heard Miller openly address drug use in interviews and in his music for years, immediately speculated that the cause was an overdose, though postmortem toxicology tests have not been released.
Reactions to the news from peers like Drake, Childish Gambino and J. Cole, relative newcomers like Ugly God and Lil Xan and titans from outside hip-hop like Elton John and Solange were echoes of one another, invariably describing him as a sweet, easygoing individual with an innate gift for music. Growing up in Pittsburgh, Mac Miller was trained in piano from the age of 6 and went on to teach himself drums, guitar and beat production. His earliest releases, especially his breakthrough 2010 mixtape K.I.D.S. Above all else, his early work represented the fumbling freedom of adolescence skipping school, finding a first love and dreams of getting rich through rap. But as he matured, on albums such as Watching Movies with the Sound Off, The Divine Feminine and this summers Swimming, Miller experimented in RB and funk and explored love, depression and candid honesty when it came to his own battles. Millers music will be played chronologically, interspersed with tributes from those whose lives he affected. Nightfall Records is inviting visual artists to come and paint, create and draw live tribute art, and The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the playgrounds namesake slide has gotten a fresh coat of blue paint for the occasion. The conversation below is a reflection on Millers legacy from two NPR Music staffers: Sidney Madden, who covers hip-hop for the site, and Bobby Carter, who produced Millers August Tiny Desk Concert, which would turn out to be one of the artists final performances. Bobby Carter: Mac and his team had just hopped off of a coast-to-coast flight, but were really eager to see the desk and to play. Ive produced plenty of acts at the Tiny Desk where the artist wants to get into the green room, relax, or get into a zone right up until performance time. I understand and respect that approach, but Mac Miller was the polar opposite. They all arrived as a unit and exited their Sprinter giggling like high schoolers. Thundercat, who joined him on bass, had performed solo at the Desk just a few months prior, so he was able to brief Mac on what was to come and totally break the ice. I showed them to the green room, where he met the four string players for the first time, greeting them graciously. I carved out some extra space for Mac to get situated, but he wasnt interested. He told me that he was a little nervous this was the first time they would perform these songs live. We literally had to hit pause on the antics in order to get the instrumentation situated. Placing Thundercat on the shaker for the first song was a game-time decision that came from one of those jokes if you look closely at the piano player, Javad Day and Mac during Small Worlds, youll catch them snickering as Thundercat opens up on that shaker Sidney Madden: I think the fact that he was so ready to get into the space and start rehearsing with the string players shows his commitment to his musicality and respect for live instrumentation aside from his raps, thats always something that piqued my interest when Id give any of his new records a first spin. I remember feeling so immersed in the horns and the layering of piano on Watching Movies with the Sound Off and The Divine Feminine. His debut album, Blue Slide Park, released independently under Rostrum Records, debuted at No. Billboard 200, but after that, he had a period where it seemed his releases were always overshadowed by others, mostly because of release scheduling. Watching Movies with the Sound Off, after months of promo, got bumped to the No. Kanye Wests Yeezus and J. Coles Born Sinner. GO:OD AM suffered a similar fate, being bumped from No. Drake and Futures surprise collab tape What A Time To Be Alive (which, lets face it, definitely hasnt aged as well as Macs third studio album).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
December 2020
Categories |