GoldLink caught heat this week over an Instagram post that many believed was dismissive of Mac Miller's work. The D.C.-bred rapper shared a photo of the late Miller with a lengthy caption that compared their respective albums, And After That, We Didn’t Talk and Divine Feminine.
"I always thought you drove yourself insane about your own music," GoldLink wrote. "So much that, you would adopt styles as homage to those around you that you loved. That’s where our problem started. Divine Feminine was an actual blueprint of 'and after that we didn’t talk.'"
People were quick to blast GoldLink for suggesting Miller had copied his style. Anderson .Paak, who has collaborated with both artists, shared a since-deleted message in which accused GoldLink of being an ungrateful attention-seeker.
"You ain't the first to make an album inspired by a relationship, you ain't the first to make a song featuring Anderson .Paak. But you are the first to disrespect my friend who is no longer here for absolutely no reason and I can't stand for that," he wrote in part. "If Divine Feminine was such a blueprint of your record then tell me where the plaques are for whatever your shit was called! ...Some things simply have nothing to do with you but when have a God Complex, I’m sure it’s easy to think everything comes from you or was inspired by some way. Whatever it is, I ain’t giving it no more energy."
GoldLink addressed the controversy during a Wednesday night concert, when he referred to Miller as his "best friend," and acknowledged that he was one of the few rappers who helped him at the beginning his career.
"Without Mac Miller, there would be no GoldLink ..." he said on stage, before touching on the backlash. "I'mma be a sacrifice for everybody in this fuckin' shit right now. You say whatever the fuck you want ... you say it however the fuck you want it. You don't have to explain yourself to no-motherfuckin'-body ... we ain't worried about n***as that we don't know."
He continued: "The whole post I that made about Mac Miller was about love and that n***as can actually be brothers. It wasn't about stealing. I never used the word copy. I never used the word steal. The thing is, Mac Miller wrote all of Divine Feminine. That was a great album. The fact that he made a n***a a cake was one of the most heartwarming shits when you're a young n***a in the game. What rapper makes other rappers cakes? .... That's some cute boyfriend-girlfriend shit we was doing...That's one of the realest n***as I ever met. So I don't give a fuck what nobody say about it."
You can hear his full statement in the video above.
