With one of Mac Miller’s most beloved projects now finally on streaming, engineer Josh Berg revealed the late rapper didn’t want to sign with Roc-A-Fella.
In a feature from GQ breaking down the creative process behind Faces, often regarded as a major high point in Miller’s career, Berg said there were discussions for Mac to join the Roc-A-Fella family.
“He didn’t sign to Roc-A-Fella because he was like, ‘I’m not gonna have it be that I needed the Jay-Z feature to get famous, for people to validate me and then people think it’s about that validation,’” said Berg.
All of Miller’s material before GO:OD AM was released either through independent record labels, or entirely free of labels. He and his REMember Music imprint signed to Warner Bros. Records in 2014, the same year Faces was released for free.
Berg was credited as a recording assistant, producer, engineer, and more across multiple Miller projects, including 2013’s Watching Movies with the Sound Off and last year’s posthumous album Circles. Berg also co-produced multiple songs on Faces and provided additional vocals on “Inside Outside.” In a 2013 cover story with FADER, Miller called Berg “my Rick Rubin.”
On Friday, Faces arrived on streaming services for the first time. The 25-track project, which was mostly produced by Miller under his Larry Fisherman alias, features guest appearances from Vince Staples, Earl Sweatshirt, and Rick Ross among others. To mark the re-release of Faces, his estate released a short documentary on its creation.
A rep for the late artist declined to comment when asked if Mac Miller had been offered a deal by Roc-A-Fella.
