The sustaining and inspiring legacy of Mac Miller, who would have turned 30 today, is being remembered by those closest to him in a number of moving tribute messages.
As part of a Rolling Stone feature published on Mac’s birthday, a number of fellow creatives—including Swimming and Circles contributor Thundercat, labelmate Wiz Khalifa, collaborator J.I.D, and more—shared letters to their late friend that touched on everything from personal memories to recollections of key in-the-studio moments.
“I hope that on your birthday, the clarity, and places and spaces that you’ve always wanted to go to, see and feel—I hope that you feel that infinitely,” Thundercat, who (along with J.I.D) was originally set to join Mac on the 2018 Swimming Tour, wrote. “I hope that you can see further than you’ve ever seen before. I hope that wherever you are, it’s funny. Gotta be funny. If it isn’t funny, it sucks.”
Thundercat added that he’s been taking Mac’s advice as of late by “sitting down and letting it happen, extremely sitting down and letting it happen.” He also credited the time he was able to spend with Mac as having changed his life forever. “And goodness, I’m happy that I’ve gotten to know you and spend this time with you because your life changed my life,” he wrote. “I hope that wherever you are, you’re still changing people’s lives.”
Wiz, meanwhile, took it back to early Pittsburgh memories involving producer and ID Labs founder Eric “E. Dan” Dan, who also shared a letter to Mac. “You were the young homie coming up so fast and representing the Burgh. We’ll never forget you, man,” Wiz said.
See more—including letters from Rapsody and EarthGang’s Olu (among others)—here via Rolling Stone.
Karen Meyers, Mac’s mother, commemorated the day by sharing a photo to Instagram Stories showing her son smiling alongside her on the beach. Other birthday-marking messages arrived from fans and other artists like across social media.
Mac Miller died in September 2018 at the age of 26. Just one month earlier, Swimming had been released to widespread acclaim and opened at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. The album ultimately became the last to be released during Mac’s lifetime, with the posthumous Circles arriving two years later.
Last year, Mac was featured on Young Thug’s Punk closer “Day Before.” Revisit that below.
Rest in power, Mac.
