Mac Miller

GoldLink Trends As Fans Debate Whether Or Not He Counts As ‘Canceled’

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“Cancel culture” continues to be a hot-button issue on public forums like Twitter, as proponents of accountability maintain that no one is ever really “canceled” en masse, while others wring their hands at the prospect of political correctness run amok. Into this debate, one user injected an intriguing example that has prompted some serious (and hilariously unserious) consideration from hip-hop fans.

“Cancel culture isn’t real unless your name is Daniel Caesar or Goldlink lmaooo,” wrote @mali3035, referencing the rapper and singer whose respective popularity levels have seemingly flagged since both scored career-defining hits in 2017 (“Best Part” with H.E.R. and “Crew” with Brent Faiyaz and Shy Glizzy, respectively). “They got them negros outta here,” @mali3035 joked.

To recap, GoldLink was the subject of backlash when he noted similarities between his 2015 project And After That, We Didn’t Talk and the late Mac Miller’s 2016 album The Divine Feminine in a lengthy post on Instagram. As Miller had recently passed, the post was read as “disrespectful” by many fans and peers, including Anderson . Paak, who penned a long response of his own. Since then, GoldLink has released another pair of projects, but has yet to reach the same heights as he did on “Crew.” He also claims that he wasn’t trying to accuse Mac of plagiarism, but intent and reception don’t always agree.

Seeing the original tweet claiming GoldLink is canceled, other fans quickly chimed in, sending the DMV-bred artist’s name to Twitter’s trending topics as they debated whether or not he really was canceled and why. While some simply maintained that “Crew” was just the result of the song being bigger than its principal artist (thanks in no small part to the efforts of its guests), others noted that GoldLink seems to be doing fine, despite reduced streaming numbers in comparison to that smash. Others simply defended GoldLink, saying that they refused to go along with what they saw as a vindictive agenda.

For what it’s worth, GoldLink’s story isn’t all that uncommon in hip-hop — Vh1 used to run specials about the biggest one-hit wonders in pop music all the time and rappers usually constituted significant chunks of those lists (the “how” and “why” is a subject for a longer, better-researched piece). GoldLink and Daniel Caesar are likely far from “canceled” (seriously, very few public figures don’t recover from bouts of bad press — even R. Kelly has his defenders), and while neither has matched their biggest hits so far (although Caesar is featured on Justin Bieber’s “Peaches,” a monster jam in its own right), that doesn’t mean they don’t both have long careers ahead of them, if they want them.

Vince Staples Says Mac Miller Refused To Take Royalties For Their Collaborative ‘Stolen Youth’ Mixtape

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Back in 2013, Vince Staples and Mac Miller released a collaborative mixtape called Stolen Youth, which was entirely produced by Miller under the pseudonym Larry Fisherman. Now, Staples has revealed a touching anecdote about the late rapper, who died in 2018, saying that he refused to accept royalties from the project.

In an interview on N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN’s Drink Champs podcast, Staples said that Miller had creatively inspired him when the two were initially introduced by Earl Sweatshirt. “I wasn’t really making music at that time,” Staples said. “Earl had came back and I was just you know moving around with him making sure you know he was straight and shit. And I introduced myself to [Mac] and he was like, ‘I know who you are why don’t you make beats or whatever, why don’t you make music,’ and I say, ‘I don’t got no beats and he’s like, ‘Aight, I’m making some beats come over here on Friday,’ and then that’s how we ended up making music and being cool.”

Staples continued, talking about going on tour with Miller and how “he didn’t want no publishing.”

“He said, ‘If you make a million dollars buy me a S-Class Benz or something like that,’ the whole project [Stolen Youth] he gave me ownership of it. He just said, if you if you make a gang of money, just give me like a S-Class — and then took me on the road and paid for my room and board and still paid me. So yeah, you know that was the homie.”

Watch Staples’ interview above.

Mac Miller is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Mac Miller’s Brother Slams Machine Gun Kelly’s ‘Good News’ Film: ‘At Least Change The Title’

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Machine Gun Kelly aka Colson Baker is the kind of multi-talented artist who can float easily between music and movies, but his most recent film choice has been a cause of irritation for some. Baker’s latest project is a film called Good News, which Deadline describes as the “the story of the last days of a rising but troubled musician. While the feature is a complete work of fiction, it takes its inspiration from the arcs of such contemporary artists as Mac Miller, Lil Peep, Pop Smoke and Juice WRLD.” Well, the family of at least one of those late musicians is not at all pleased about the project.

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Mac Miller’s brother, Miller McCormick, posted an Instagram story today voicing his distaste for the project. “F*ck you, f*ck your movie,” he wrote. “At least change the title.” This is a fair response given the name of the film seems to be a direct reference to a single of the same name off Miller’s posthumous project, Circles. Watching someone disconnected from a loved one make art about their life seems like a pretty brutal process, and the family recently spoke out on a similar matter about an unauthorized biography of Miller.

Machine Gun Kelly and the team behind the film have yet to respond.

DVSN, Ty Dolla Sign, And Mac Miller’s ‘I Believed It’ Reflects On A Past Lover Who Broke Their Promise

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Every now and then we receive an unexpected collaboration from two or more artists and this new track seems to be one of those. DVSN, Ty Dolla Sign, and the late Mac Miller bring their talents together for their new song, “I Believe It.” It’s a reflective effort that finds the trio looking back on their past with a former lover who broke all the promises they once hoped to keep. Along with the song, DVSN announced a joint project with Ty Dolla Sign is “on the way” in a post to Twitter.

While the song marks the first time the three artists have collaborated on a song, it’s not the first time the individual acts have worked with one of the names on the song. Last year, DVSN recruited Ty Dolla Sign for “Dangerous City” off their third album, A Muse In Their Feelings while Mac Miller worked with Ty Dolla Sign back in 2016 on “Cinderella” from the late rapper’s album, The Divine Feminine. Prior to the song’s release, DVSN and Ty Dolla Sign both shared videos of them working on “I Believed It” with Mac Miller in the studio, confirming that the song was worked on and finished before Mac’s tragic death.

The song comes after DVSN shared a deluxe reissue of A Muse In Their Feelings and weeks after Ty Dolla Sign joined YG and Mozzy in the video for “Vibe With You.” As for Mac Miller, the late rapper has a book on the way comprised of stories from his friends and collaborators.

You can press play on “I Believe It” in the video above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The Mac Miller Fund Announces Plans To Award $1,000 Grants For Pennsylvanian Artists Of Color

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The Pittsburgh Foundation’s Mac Miller Fund is planning to help out a sizeable group of artists thanks to a special round of grants. The fund, which was established in 2018 by the family of the late rapper, will award 75 artists who are Black, Indigenous, or people of color with $1,000 grants. Applications are open now through July 23 through the foundation’s website and are available to Pennsylvanian artists who live in the Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Mercer, Lawrence, Somerset, Venango, Washington, and Westmoreland counties. The grants will also be practice-based, allowing the recipients to use the awards on whatever they chose.

“The BIPOC Artist Micro-Grant program is a way for the foundation to carry forward Mac Miller’s creative and artistic legacy and his family’s vision for helping artists, particularly younger artists, recognize their full potential,” Kelly Uranker, vice president of the Pittsburgh Foundation’s Center for Philanthropy, said in a statement.

The announcement comes more than two years after the Mac Miller Fund awarded its first two recipients with $50,000 grants. The winners were from the Hope Academy of Music And The Arts, an after-school arts education outreach program at East Liberty Presbyterian Church, and MusiCares, a California-based charity of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

You can read more about the grants on the Pittsburgh Foundation’s website here.

Mac Miller is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Rappers Going Platinum in a Pandemic

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Shining in the dark. Continue reading…

Here’s a Complete List of Every XXL Freshman Over the Years

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A look at all of the stars who have graced XXL Freshman covers over the years. Continue reading…

Mac Miller’s Alleged Drug Dealers Received A New Trial Date

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Nearly three years after Mac Miller’s tragic death, the individuals accused of selling him the drugs that led to his fatal overdose have received a new trial date. AllHipHop reports Cameron Pettit, Stephen Walter, and Ryan Reavis are all due in court on November 16 to face conspiracy and distribution of drugs resulting in death charges. The trio was arrested a year after Miller’s death following an investigation that revealed they were responsible for giving the rapper cocaine, oxycodone, and Xanax. Officers also noted that the pills Mac received were counterfeit and also contained fentanyl.

According to the charges, the rapper bought the pills from Petit after they were run to him by Reavis and supplied by Walter. US Attorney Nick Hanna’s case says the trio continued selling drugs following Miller’s death despite being aware of the fatal risk their supply posed against people. Petit was the first to be arrested and later on, Reavis’ Lake Havasu, Arizona home was raided by the DEA where they found prescription pills, guns, and ammunition. Walter was taken into custody in Los Angeles on the same day of the raid.

In addition to the aforementioned charges, Reavis also faces charges for fraudulent schemes and artifices, possession of marijuana, possession of prescription drugs, possession of drug paraphernalia, weapons misconduct by a prohibited possessor, and manufacture of a prohibited weapon. He requested to have his trial be separate from his co-defendants because he was only an “alleged runner and minor participant, who is only alleged to be involved in one transaction,” according to his lawyer Correen Ferrentino. This request, however, was denied by a judge.

Mac Miller is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Mac Miller’s Estate Denounces A Biography Planned For Release Near His Birthday

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With the Mac Miller estate announcing The Book Of Mac: Remembering Mac Miller releasing this October, fans may be surprised to learn that Donna-Claire Chesman’s book isn’t the only one about the rapper planned for release in the next year. Journalist Paul Cantor also has a biography in the works called Most Dope: The Extraordinary Life Of Mac Miller with a release date of January 17, but unlike Chesman’s book, Cantor’s effort has drawn the ire of Miller’s estate.

Sharing a statement through publicity company Orienteer’s Nick Dierl, Miller’s estate denounced the upcoming project, saying that it was “not authorized or endorsed by Malcolm’s family” and noted that Cantor wasn’t closely connected with Mac during the rapper’s life. The statement also points out the Cantor was advised that “the family and friends of Malcolm were uncomfortable with him authoring this biography.” The fact that the book has since been made available for pre-order also rubbed Mac’s family the wrong way, prompting them to wonder if the release date was announced to take advantage of the Book Of Mac pre-order in hopes of confusing fans.

The family expresses disappointment with Cantor and Abrams Press for the move and for setting the release date so close to Mac’s birthday (January 18). “With that in mind,” the statement reads, “We urge those that wish to support Malcolm and his legacy to abstain from purchasing this new book.” You can read the full statement below.

Mac Miller is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.