Coming off the release of his deeply personal Swimming (read our review here), Mac Miller has been enjoying a new chapter of his life. Having emerged from a challenging year relatively unscathed, his latest chapter reveals a mature young songwriter dealing with his circumstances by simply letting go. Ultimately, such a carefree approach led to one of his strongest projects to date, while revealing yet another step in Miller's seemingly continuous artistic growth. Now, Mac has connected with Vulture for an extensive feature, covering his experience songwriting, public perception, and much more.
Some of the most revealing insight arises when Mac discusses his own public perception, which has altered since his arrival as a teenager. ". A lot of times in my life I’ve put this pressure to hold myself to the standard of whatever I thought I was supposed to be, or how I was supposed to be perceived. And that creates pressure," he explains. "It’s annoying to be out and have someone come up to me and think they know. They’re like “Yo, man, are you okay?” I’m like “Yeah, I’m fucking at the grocery store.”
"I feel like the public perception of me varies on who you ask," he continues. "But there’s a bit of a freedom in knowing that people are going to think all types of shit, no matter what. It actually makes me less stressed about how my actions are perceived. It’s out of my control. Like, do I really care what Hollywood Life is saying? If I read a headline, and I’m like, “Wow, that’s completely untrue …” I’m like, “That’s as far as it goes. Okay, cool. So a bunch of kids now think that.” Fine. As long as I have people that are hearing my music, and there’s still that relationship."
Speaking of which, Mac explains that he's cool with his music being open to interpretation; in fact, he prefers that. "I’ve seen a lot of different takes on what the music is. And that’s what I like. I like different responses. You know? Everyone’s not being like, “This song is obviously about this …”
For more, read the entire piece here.