For some, Mac Miller will always be perceived as simply another proponent of frat rap, and not much more. But those who have been following his career closely have watched the Pittsburgh rapper's gradual evolution as both an artist, and a human, since his first incredibly successful independent album Blue Slide Park in 2011.
Two years later, Mac released Watching Movies With The Sound Off. It was an album that was, if you weren't keeping a close eye on his mixtape output, startlingly avant garde in comparison to its predecessor. Following the thread of this aesthetic was one release last year, Faces, which revealed a distinctly darker side to the rapper. It referenced not only his depression, but also a drug problem – his work touching on his consistent use of cocaine, lean and angel dust. While he admits he's not completely sober, his new album, GO:OD AM, sees Mac Miller waking up from the bad dreams that plagued him on Faces and being greeted by the promise of morning light.
Mac will be bringing his GO:OD AM Tour to Australia’s East Coast in January 2016, having last visited the country to play the Big Day Out two years prior. His first effort on a major label, GO:OD AM features appearances from Miguel, Ab-Soul and Little Dragon, debuted at #4 on the Billboard 200 and also boasts a smash sleeper single, ‘100 Grandkids’. While many recent interviews have focused on Mac's drug-affected past, and how it has led to his prosperous present, Complex AU asked him about the future: that of the rap game, his musical direction and of course, what he wants his own to look like.
So GO:OD AM is out of the way, and your sound has evolved considerably over the past few years. Musically, where do you see yourself going next? What haven't you tried that you want to try in the future?
I think next I really want to just deal with making more songs about love. That's something I really want to dive into, is just really getting into the ins and outs and the complexities of that emotion. So that's my plan currently. I'm just kind of exploring that a little more. As far as sound, I don't know man. There's so many possibilities. I've got to get into the studio and let it happen. I've just been on the road so I haven't really had a chance to do that.
What's left in the rap game that you haven't done yet? In terms of collaborations or production, what's on your rap bucket list?
There's people that I'd love to work with, like I'd love to work with Andre 3000 and I'd love to work with Kanye or rap on a Timbaland beat, work with Cee-Lo. There's a lot of stuff. I think getting in the studio with Missy Elliot is a big one.
Going into the album a little bit, '100 Grandkids' appears to be a really universal song and it seemed to be a big hit immediately. Did you learn anything from making that song that you'll bring forward into your newer music?
I think one thing that I learned from making that song is just patience. Like the first part of that song was done for a while, and it wasn't until a handful of months later that I decided to add the second song. So, I think just always leaving songs open-ended. You can have a new idea for something way after you first start working on something. You don't have to follow. You can create your own song structure. You don't have to follow a verse with a bridge. It can be something different.
Now, you said you're "hoping not to join the 27 club" on 'Brand Name'. What do you hope your life looks like by then, at 27?
I guess I hope I'm more at peace. I think that's kind of what everyone hopes. And that I'm just enjoying myself. Not that I'm not enjoying myself right now, but that I'm still making music and there's still people that listen. That's all I really need.
Which one of your alter egos do you think we'll most likely be seeing a project from the soonest?
You're most likely to see a project from Larry Fisherman the soonest. I think one of those is going to come out before the end of the year.
Are there any new alter egos that we should be aware of in the pipeline?
I don't know man. They come up out of nowhere. I can't really control 'em. I try and control 'em. They just happen. I'm hoping I can think of some new ones.
There are two projects of yours that have been consistently on the back-burner: Pink Slime with Pharrell and 92 Til Infinity with Jazzy Jeff. Do you think either of those will see the light of day in the near future?
I don't know about the near future, but I hope at some point. Both those projects have a bunch of recorded material ready for them. It's hard for me to want to put out stuff when I hear myself rapping a few years ago. I just don't like putting out songs where I sound real young cause they're old. But, I don't know, I hope they do see the light of day cause there's a lot of dope material on there. If I could, I would just drop everything I did after I did it. That's the most liberating feeling.
You featured in the XXL Class of 2011. Are there any up-and-comers you have your eye on? Whose music are you really enjoying right now?
Let's see, there's my friend Michael Christmas who I'm on tour with right now. He's really dope. It's hard to stay up on music when I'm out on the road, because you're just in a different world. I've definitely heard a lot of dope stuff coming out. I don't always know who I'm listening to. But everyone who's on tour with me I like, right now.
You're coming out to Australia in 2016. There's a rapper here in Melbourne called Baro who I interviewed earlier in the year, and he told me he was a huge fan of Watching Movies With The Sound Off. Is there any chance you two could possibly get a collab going while you're over here next year?
I'd completely be down. That's awesome. Tell him I got beats for him, a hundred percent. That's one thing I'm really trying to do this year, is really get into more production.
He'll be very happy to hear that I'm sure. So you'll be touring Australia in 2016 and you've been here before. Is there anything specific that you plan to get up to off stage?
I want to go walk around a bit more and see more natural landmarks and nature and shit like that. I didn't get to do that as much because last time I was there I was too drunk all the time. So I'm hoping to be a little healthier and get to head out during the day and do some exploring.
Just to double back into some more stuff about your material, tell us a bit about the song with Alchemist and Migos called 'Jabroni'. How did that come together? Is there more work to come with Alchemist or Migos?
I just went over to Al's and I really like putting people on beats that they wouldn't normally do. So, Migos happened to be in town and I just gave them a call to come through. It just happened. It wasn't a part of anything bigger, it was just kind of for the moment.
Just going off that song, it's called 'Jabroni', which is what The Rock used to call his opponents. I also saw you hit the Stone Cold Stunner on stage the other day. Are these just all kind of hints that you'll be joining the WWE some time soon?
Hopefully. I can only dream man. I would love to join the WWE.
Are you a big fan?
Hell yeah, man. I actually went and saw a WWE show when I was younger one time. It was pretty awesome. I need to figure what my secret moves, like what my finisher would be.
You haven't figured out your finisher just yet?
No, I haven't yet. But it would be something just very acrobatic. And something where people would be like, very impressed with my athletic ability.
Sounds good! So GO:OD AM is about the promise of new mornings. What does tomorrow morning look like for you?
Well, tomorrow morning, I'm in Miami right now for a show tomorrow and my mom actually, she has some of her photography at Art Basel for the first time ever. So I'm just going and supporting that. I'm really proud of her. So I'm doing that tomorrow. I'm hoping I got a show. At every show I meet about a hundred of the fans. I'm hoping that tomorrow I wake up kind of early so that I can have a full day, get a good night's sleep; I'm trying to get a little healthier.
Mac Miller will be touring Australia in January 2016.
Tour details are as follows:
Dec 31 - Claremont Showgrounds, WA
theorigin.com.au
Sat 2 Jan - Forum Theatre (18+), Melbourne, VIC
136 100
Mon 4 Jan - Enmore Theatre (AA), Sydney, NSW
132 849
Tue 5 Jan - The Tivoli (18+), Brisbane, QLD
136 100
