In an interview published online Wednesday, Mac Miller talked about the pressures of fame and the bad year he was having.
The rapper, who was tragically found dead of an apparent overdose Friday at his San Fernando Valley home, was interviewed by Vulture for a profile piece where he discussed his new album, Swimming, and the pressures of fame.
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In the article, writer Craig Jenkins says that with Miller’s success at a young age, and that success being tied to his honest about his struggles with substance abuse, he is constantly plagued with questions about how he is doing.
The article also mentions his car accident last May, where he crashed his Mercedes-Benz G-Class while under the influence and fled the scene. He was charged for the incident and was supposed to face his arraignment on Sept. 11.
“There’s pressure. A lot of times in my life I’ve put this pressure to hold myself to the standard of whatever I thought I was supposed to be, or how I was supposed to be perceived,” Miller told the outlet. “And that creates pressure… It’s annoying to be out and have someone come up to me and think they know.
“They’re like ‘Yo, man, are you okay?’ I’m like ‘Yeah, I’m f—ing at the grocery store.’ You know? It’s the job. This is what I signed up for. So, you just have to not. You have to have your own reality and that has to be the driving force of your life,” he continued.
“Do I wish that every single thing I did when I was 19 wasn’t a discussion? Sure,” he added.
The rapper also talked about how the public perceived him from the outside, telling Vulture it’s out of his control.
“I feel like the public perception of me varies on who you ask,” he said. “But there’s a bit of a freedom in knowing that people are going to think all types of sh—, no matter what. It actually makes me less stressed about how my actions are perceived. It’s out of my control.”
“…Like, do I really care what Hollywood Life is saying? If I read a headline, and I’m like, ‘Wow, that’s completely untrue…’ I’m like, ‘That’s as far as it goes. Okay, cool. So a bunch of kids now think that.’ Fine. As long as I have people that are hearing my music, and there’s still that relationship… all that [other] shit lasts a day,” Miller said.
The interview also dug deep into the making of what is now his last album, Swimming, which was released Aug. 3. The album’s lyrics made many fans and critics to believe the themes were related to his breakup with pop star Ariana Grande in May and his car crash, but he revealed the album had been in development for two years.
The album made a strong debut at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, which Miller told the outlet was a good debut for the album.
“I’m less concerned with being king of the hill than being able to put shit out,” he said in the interview.
