Speaker 1: What's up, music heads, Welcome back to Crash Course Pod.
Speaker 1: This week we're taking a look at the incredible journey
Speaker 1: and lasting impact of an artist who touched so many Macmiller.
Speaker 1: And if I didn't tell you guys already, I'm the
Speaker 1: host Ashtone and you're listening to Crash Course Pod. So
Speaker 1: get ready to explore his evolution, his lyrical honesty, and
Speaker 1: the legacy he left behind. So let's start with his
Speaker 1: early mixtapes and the Kids era. It was a fun,
Speaker 1: lighthearted sound that got him noticed. It was released in
Speaker 1: twenty ten when Mac was just eighteen, kicking incredibly dope.
Speaker 1: Hekids was heavily inspired by the film Kids. It captured
Speaker 1: the essence of high school graduation, skipping class, kool aid
Speaker 1: and frozen pizza and Nikes on my feet. The initial
Speaker 1: impression of everyone labeled him as a frat rapper, and
Speaker 1: critics saw him as a lighthearted, easy listening artist who
Speaker 1: made party anthems. He was considered the kid next door
Speaker 1: with a lot of chrisma, but at the same time
Speaker 1: was not seen as a quote unquote serious lyricist. Then
Speaker 1: we have Blue Slide Park, so he started to push
Speaker 1: beyond that initial image remember frat boy music or frat rapper.
Speaker 1: He started to push beyond that initial image with albums
Speaker 1: like Blue Slide Park and Macadelic. He even created well,
Speaker 1: let's stick on track, Let's stay on track. So Blue
Speaker 1: Slide Park, I think was released in twenty eleven and
Speaker 1: it was the first independent debut album to hit number
Speaker 1: one in over a decade. Despite that, it received harsh
Speaker 1: critical reviews, and this backlash actually sparked his growth. On
Speaker 1: Macadelic mixtape, he moved away from the party sound into
Speaker 1: more of a psychedelic, trippy production. He began collaborating with
Speaker 1: experimental artist like Flying Lotus and Thundercat. I think that
Speaker 1: proved he was a student of music, not just a
Speaker 1: hit maker, and that he had more range than the
Speaker 1: frat boy title. Watching watching movies with the sound off,
Speaker 1: in my opinion, was mac Miller's coming of age project.
Speaker 1: He moved to La built a home studio, the Sanctuary,
Speaker 1: and embraced a surrealist, jazz inflected sound. I would vote
Speaker 1: and say it was more mature, more of a mature
Speaker 1: sound opposed to the frat rapper days. Anyways, he started
Speaker 1: asking existential questions and that told the listener that mac
Speaker 1: Miller was no longer interested in being a pop star.
Speaker 1: He wanted to be a creator, was get more inward
Speaker 1: and dealing with the pressures of fame and searching for meaning.
Speaker 1: So then we have Faces. This mixtape is considered to
Speaker 1: be a masterpiece by a lot of people. It's often
Speaker 1: cited as his magnum opus and the twenty I mean
Speaker 1: twenty fourteen mixtape is it's twenty four track descent into
Speaker 1: his psyche. Shall I say it's jazz fusion meets gritty
Speaker 1: hip hop, And that was with Faces. It was a
Speaker 1: raw and honest look into his addiction, struggles, mental health
Speaker 1: with terrifying honesty. It's a studio rat project, pure unfiltered
Speaker 1: creativity that solidified him as a genius amongst peers. And
Speaker 1: then we have Goo Colon Odam good Am. After the
Speaker 1: darkness of Faces, this album felt like a breath of
Speaker 1: fresh air. The title itself suggests a good morning, like
Speaker 1: a fresh start. Tracks like Brand Name and the Weekend
Speaker 1: showed him trying to find a healthy routine. It showcased
Speaker 1: Hits and his ability to fight back against his demons
Speaker 1: and find a path towards stability. And then we have
Speaker 1: the divine, feminine. This album was a beautiful exploration of
Speaker 1: love and relationships. The sound was a complete pivot in
Speaker 1: to neo soul, jazz and funk. It features heavy orchestration
Speaker 1: and appearances by Anderson pakenbilal I Hope I said those
Speaker 1: right knock on wood the woodiest. Anyways, it wasn't just
Speaker 1: a romance album. It was an exploration of the feminine
Speaker 1: energy in the universe and the healing power of love.
Speaker 1: It showed a softer, more emotionally intelligent side of masculinity.
Speaker 1: And then I mean he makes He's made so many
Speaker 1: albums and projects. We could go on, and let's talk
Speaker 1: about one that was released shortly before his passing, and
Speaker 1: that's Swimming. Its appoignant and introspective work. It was released
Speaker 1: in twenty eighteen, and Swimming is about the act of
Speaker 1: treading water. It's a masterclass and musical restraint and self care.
Speaker 1: It's a peaceful, resigned, yet hopeful album. He wasn't drowning anymore.
Speaker 1: He was trying to keep his head above the surface.
Speaker 1: It remained a blueprint for anyone navigating mental health struggles.
Speaker 1: So let's pivot. We talked about his releases and the
Speaker 1: growth of creativity, and honestly, every album, in my opinion,
Speaker 1: took a piece of him and we got to see
Speaker 1: where his mindset was and the growth and the journey
Speaker 1: of it through everybody of work released. Despite all that
Speaker 1: or not, in addition, in addition to all that, he
Speaker 1: was also an influence on a generation. Some would argue,
Speaker 1: I would agree that mac miller was a bridge between
Speaker 1: the old school and the new school. He mentored artists
Speaker 1: like Vince Staples, I would say sis. I would also
Speaker 1: say the Internet as well. He paved the way for
Speaker 1: artists to be vulnerable and uncool. He showed that you
Speaker 1: could start as a pop act and evolve into a
Speaker 1: sophisticated composer, which encouraged others to prioritize artistic integrity over
Speaker 1: the charts circles. It was completed by the producer John Bryson.
Speaker 1: That is a posthumor, a posthumous I hope you say
Speaker 1: that posthumous release. Some say it further solidified his legacy,
Speaker 1: and it was actually a companion piece to Swimming Swimming
Speaker 1: in Circles. It moved away from rap almost entirely into
Speaker 1: a singer songwriter space. It felt like a gentle goodbye,
Speaker 1: emphasizing that it is what it is, and the and
Speaker 1: that piece is possible. It's so sad that it's romantic.
Speaker 1: In my opinion, how do we remember macmull? Can we
Speaker 1: give him a round of applause for right now? I
Speaker 1: never met him personally, but word on the street was
Speaker 1: that macmull was known as the kindest, one of the
Speaker 1: kindest men in hip hop. He was a multi instrumentalist
Speaker 1: who lived and breathed music. His legacy is one of
Speaker 1: con and evolution, proving that we are not defined by
Speaker 1: who we were yesterday, but by the work we put
Speaker 1: in today. So get your pins. It is time for
Speaker 1: some mac Miller essentials. You need to have these songs
Speaker 1: written down and listen to them, especially if you aren't
Speaker 1: familiar with his work. So number one, you need to
Speaker 1: listen to Self Care. Then you need to listen to
Speaker 1: two thousand and nine. Then you need to listen to
Speaker 1: Good News. Then you need to listen to the Spins,
Speaker 1: Nikes A Version, Dang featuring Anderson, Pop Circles, Welcome Back
Speaker 1: to Earth, Wings, and finally Hurt Feelings. All of those
Speaker 1: need to be in your listening list. Make a playlist
Speaker 1: out of it. Now before we go, let's talk about
Speaker 1: a little fun facts. I mean, I'm sure you guys
Speaker 1: already know these, especially if your music had head like
Speaker 1: I am, but self taught musician. At a very young age,
Speaker 1: he taught himself how to play piano, guitar, trump, drums
Speaker 1: and bass. By the time he was a teenager, he
Speaker 1: was using these skills to produce his own tracks, rather
Speaker 1: than just wrapping over YouTube beats or existing beats. The
Speaker 1: title of his song the Star Room refers to a
Speaker 1: real place. It was a bedroom in his friend Beatty's
Speaker 1: house that had glow in the dark star stickers on
Speaker 1: the ceiling. It was in that room that Mack recorded
Speaker 1: many of his earliest songs and decided to commit his
Speaker 1: life to music. He also had many alter egos. He
Speaker 1: loved to experiment with different genres and sound, often releasing
Speaker 1: music under various pseudonyms to separate the projects from his
Speaker 1: mac Miller brand. So his primary producer alias was under
Speaker 1: Larry Fisherman, and then he has Larry Lovestein, a jazz
Speaker 1: persona used for the EPU which he performed with the
Speaker 1: band called The Velvet Revival. We also have Delusional Thomas,
Speaker 1: a horror core Elias Alias, where he used high pitched,
Speaker 1: distorted vocals to explore darker lyrical themes. And finally we
Speaker 1: have Easy Mac, his very first rap name used for
Speaker 1: the mixtape but my macin ain't easy when he was
Speaker 1: about fifteen. Yeah, some people, I mean, I won't say
Speaker 1: some people, but I want to say some people. But
Speaker 1: when we mentioned earlier how he influenced a generation, he
Speaker 1: was known for his open door policy at his home
Speaker 1: studio in Los Angeles and the Sanctuary, that was that one.
Speaker 1: So at the Sanctuary. I don't know if this was
Speaker 1: at the Sanctuary, but during this time when he's influencing
Speaker 1: people and playing a significant role in the early careers
Speaker 1: of several major artists, let's double back on that because
Speaker 1: we mentioned Vince Staples and Siza. So for Vince Staples,
Speaker 1: Mac produced Vince's breakout mixtape Stolen Youth under his Larry
Speaker 1: Fisherman alis then and then for before Kendrick Kendrick Lamar
Speaker 1: became a household name, Matt gave him a major platform
Speaker 1: by choosing him as an opening act on the Under
Speaker 1: the Influence of Music tour. And for Siza, he produced
Speaker 1: tracks for her early on, helping foster the creative community
Speaker 1: in LA He didn't discover her because she was already
Speaker 1: signed to TDE, but he was one of the first
Speaker 1: major artists to collaborate with her and invite her into
Speaker 1: the mac miller's studio ecosystem, and that helped a cross
Speaker 1: over into a wider hip hop scene and in conclusion,
Speaker 1: to wrap this up, another alias he had was Parson Brown,
Speaker 1: which he started using for his final works, which is
Speaker 1: a reference to the song Winter Wonderland. Thanks for listening.
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