Last Friday (7 September), the hip-hop community was shocked to hear about the sad passing of Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller; he was just 26 years old.
Critics, fans and collaborators mourned an artist who constantly seemed to be developing and growing. First finding a loyal fanbase with a clutch of online mixtapes released for free in his teens, his classic-leaning style, playful sense of humour and DIY mentality eventually won him a chart-topping debut album in 2011’s Blue Slide Park.
Freewheeling between backpacker rap with political impulse, candid confessionals about depression, addiction and youthful laid-back bangers, his catalogue is a broad and kaleidoscopic portrait of an artist driven by experimentation and collaboration.
To celebrate the range and quality of that catalogue, we invited music journalist and hip-hop scholar Jesse Fairfax to put together this 50-minute mix built entirely from Mac’s music. Describing his approach to the mix over email, Fairfax told us, “In his relatively short career, Mac Miller’s evolution involved everything from rapping to singing, producing and even making jazz albums under aliases. I kept this mix mostly confined to his hip-hop history as he was a connector and a supporter, beloved by everyone from Odd Future to the TDE camp and pretty much anyone who came into contact with him. Highlights include Donald Trump, (an early fan favourite that became infamous after Mac’s 2016 viral thrashing of US President on Comedy Central’s Nightly Show) and Kool-Aid & Frozen Pizza which landed him in hot water with golden age legend Lord Finesse over copyright infringement.”
An uplifting and poignant tribute to a journey cut short.
Mac Miller: Mixed by Jesse Fairfax
Mac Miller: Mixed by Jesse Fairfax
Last Friday (7 September), the hip-hop community was shocked to hear about the sad passing of Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller; he was just 26 years old.
Critics, fans and collaborators mourned an artist who constantly seemed to be developing and growing. First finding a loyal fanbase with a clutch of online mixtapes released for free in his teens, his classic-leaning style, playful sense of humour and DIY mentality eventually won him a chart-topping debut album in 2011’s Blue Slide Park.
Freewheeling between backpacker rap with political impulse, candid confessionals about depression, addiction and youthful laid-back bangers, his catalogue is a broad and kaleidoscopic portrait of an artist driven by experimentation and collaboration.
To celebrate the range and quality of that catalogue, we invited music journalist and hip-hop scholar Jesse Fairfax to put together this 50-minute mix built entirely from Mac’s music. Describing his approach to the mix over email, Fairfax told us, “In his relatively short career, Mac Miller’s evolution involved everything from rapping to singing, producing and even making jazz albums under aliases. I kept this mix mostly confined to his hip-hop history as he was a connector and a supporter, beloved by everyone from Odd Future to the TDE camp and pretty much anyone who came into contact with him. Highlights include Donald Trump, (an early fan favourite that became infamous after Mac’s 2016 viral thrashing of US President on Comedy Central’s Nightly Show) and Kool-Aid & Frozen Pizza which landed him in hot water with golden age legend Lord Finesse over copyright infringement.”
An uplifting and poignant tribute to a journey cut short.
See Tracklist
