Mac Miller’s Independent Hip Hop Lifestyle

Taking the industry by storm, Mac Miller is definitely a threat to prominent artists on today’s music scene. At a tender age of 20, he has been signed to independent music label Rostrum Records for over two years now. He has created a loyal fan base with his hits posted via YouTube. “Donald Trump” has over 72 million hits which prove his popularity and he didn’t need a major label to do it. Miller brings youth and creativity while making imaginative highlights in Hip Hop. With all this success, who influences Mac Miller? He credits Outkast, A Tribe Called Quest, Big L, The Beastie Boys and Lauryn Hill. He noted that it was at age 15 that he got really serious about rapping and it changed his life completely. The self-taught musician has prevailed through the unsupportive few that criticize who are not his biggest fans. Before making it to Rostrum Records, he put out mixtapes, But My Mackin Ain’t Easy, The Jukebox: The Prelude to Class Clown and The High Life.

Soon to celebrate his 21st birthday, he constantly is in the lab perfecting his craft. The Pittsburg rapper was once a rap duo called Ill Spoken before embarking on a solo journey. Ill Spoken released a mixtape, How High, in 2008 but since then have not collaborated. President of Rostrum Records and Miller’s personal manager Benjy Grinberg noticed him but paid no mind until he recognized his maturity and growth when he began working on his mixtape K.I.D.S that was released August 2010. His next mixtape, Best Day Ever, featured his hit single “Donald Trump” along with “Wear My Hat” and “All Around The World.” Miller relishes being an independent artist and he enjoys the freedom that comes along with not being contractually obligated to do things the way most major label contracts are. He announced his first album, Blue Slide Park and it was in stores November 8, 2011. The album sold 144, 000 copies in his first week and was number 1 on the Billboard 200. Also earlier that year, he toured Europe on his “Incredibly Dope” Tour visiting London, Amsterdam and Manchester.

For some who were wondering, Miller is off the market in the dating scene. He stated that he is in a committed relationship with his girlfriend but as a thank you to his fans after getting a million followers on Twitter, he put out a 13 track mixtape titled I Love Life, Thank You and featured Talib Kweli and Bun B. He followed that with his most recent mixtape, Macadelic in 2012. Although everything seemed to be a success, he was soon in for a rude awakening. Miller is facing a huge lawsuit of ten million dollars from Lord Finesse for sampling a song of his that he felt led to Miller’s success. The final details of this situation are unknown.

What else is to come from the up and coming XXL Freshman? The 2013 BET Awards Cypher will include the fresh emcee. Along with that, he is working on his third EP, Pink Slime, with Pharrell Williams. His second studio album, Watching Movies With The Sound Off, and mixtape, ’92 Til Infinity with DJ Jazzy Jeff is set to release this year which means all work and no play for Miller. 2013 is packed with some amazing work and countless opportunities that he is taking full advantage of. -Free @InkStains_