I think some of his newer fans might be unearthing part of his life and career they werenвЂ™t exposed to because they may have discovered him after his passing, either through вЂњSwimmingвЂќ right before he died or вЂњCircles,вЂќ his posthumous album which presents an artist completely in command of what he was doing. Some of his longtime fans will be a little surprised. Do you think people will be surprised to learn how sensitive he was about such things?Д¬antor: Artists are very sensitive and he was an artist in the truest sense. Q: You write a lot about how that one negative review really got in MacвЂ™s head. I think she was and still is grappling with what occurred. With something like that, I think that experience with him was traumatic for her, as it would be for anyone. Q: Did you try to talk to her for the book?Д¬antor: I tried, but I didnвЂ™t get too far.

But everything (I was told) was that she was this really positive influence. Sometimes you talk to people and you think theyвЂ™re going to tell you crazy stuff. That relationship was very positive and loving between them. I thought there would be a lot more salaciousness there and there was not. Paul Cantor: I was really surprised that a lot of what was discussed after his passing with regard toВ his relationship with Ariana.

Question: What surprised you the most doing your research and interviews? вЂњI wanted to get into his head a bit to learn about that, what made him who he was.вЂќД¬antor talked more about what he discovered about MillerвЂ™s life, from his relationship with Grande to his addiction to his place in hip-hop. вЂњIf you listen to his music, he was a profound songwriter and thinker, a really genuine and deep human,вЂќ Cantor says. MillerвЂ™s family opted not to participate in the project.Д¬antor traveled to Pittsburgh, California and New York вЂ“ all places Miller lived вЂ“ pacing the streets Miller walked and visiting the stores he patronized. MillerвЂ™s complicated history is painstakingly reported by Cantor, who interviewed more than 100 people during a three-year process. His music career produced four additional well-received releases before his death, though a roughВ review вЂ“ which Cantor explores вЂ“ seemed to lodge in MillerвЂ™s head. The album topped the Billboard 200 and introduced Miller to a wider rap audience with songs including вЂњSmile BackвЂќ and вЂњParty on Fifth Ave.вЂќДЄlong with growing fame, Miller experienced deeper bouts of depression and, during his 2012 Macadelic tour, became addicted to lean, the combination of prescription cough syrup and soda popularized in the hip-hop community. But navigating a rap calling as a young white man in a city increasingly entranced by another native talent, Wiz Khalifa, meant thatВ Miller вЂ“ born Malcolm McCormick вЂ“ engaged in a slow-burn of independent iTunes releases and mixtapes that eventually cultivatedВ a burgeoning fan base.Д«ut by the time his debut, вЂњBlue Slide Park,вЂќ arrived in 2011, MillerвЂ™s career was primed for takeoff. 'I shoulda died already, came in, I was high already,' he says, 'a drug habit like Philip Hoffman will probably put me in a coffin' (via GQ).MillerвЂ™s career technically began when he was 14 years old, freestyling in the attic of a friend. Spookily, some of the lyrics Miller sings on 'Faces' forebodingly predict his 2018 death. In a short interview on YouTube, Miller says the coming-of-age project was similar to 'Harold and the Purple Crayon.' He wielded the paintbrush, and it was through this project he began to paint the world around him. But that was actually a 2021 re-release of a 2014 mixtape that - in reference to one of his first nicknames, 'Easy Mac with the Cheese' - could originally only be downloaded by making Mac a virtual sandwich, according to XXL Mag. Listeners just stumbling upon Miller's music may think his album 'Faces,' was the most recent project he released since it appears at the top of most streaming services like Spotify. Born and bred in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Miller broke out into the hip-hop scene at age 15 by selling mixtapes online, became a millionaire before he could legally drink, founded a record label, and released six studio albums all before his tragic deathВ in 2018 (via The New York Times). Sheepish indie rapper Mac Miller, born Malcolm James McCormick, devastated fans when he died from an overdoseВ at age 26.

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