Goldlink might have known it was coming. When Mac Miller passed away in September 2018, it felt as if the game was unified in mourning. The Blue Slide Park rapper never beefed with anyone, with the lone exception of Donald Trump. His circle was lined with fellow artists who had nothing but love for him. Dreamville's EarthGang named Mac as one of their first prominent supporters, telling HNHH "he respected the people who were around and they respected him. He was our brother, he treated us like brothers." Rapsody recently echoed the tale on No Jumper, explaining that if Mac "thought you was dope he was gonna give you a chance. I know I'm not the only one who has a story like that. He has taken so many artists that were at the beginning of their careers, like me, and just gave them a platform or just shared his platform to put them on."
And that's not even considering those present at Mac Miller: A Celebration Of Life, from Action Bronson, Vince Staples, Earl, J.I.D, John Mayer, Anderson .Paak, ScHoolboy Q, Alchemist, Thundercat, and more. Clearly, Mac had respect and love from his peers, culminating in a legacy that was largely perceived as wholesome and uncomplicated. Whether such fairy-tale narratives truly exist is irrelevant; there seemed little reason to cast aspersions on Mac's good name, especially given his inability to defend his honor. And yet, Goldlink decided it was not only pressing, but important, to pen a tonally bizarre open letter to Mac on Instagram.
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Though Goldlink ultimately concludes in a respectful fashion, his journey there seems riddled with unnecessary complexities. "But I think what made you and I special is that we weren’t always on the best terms. So I didn’t always have great things to say about you," he wrote, signaling an imminent left turn. He proceeds to essentially accuse Mac Miller of biting his entire style on The Divine Feminine, claiming that Mac and his team more or less shrugged it off with an "it be like that sometimes." Despite concluding on a respectful note--and remember that Goldlink and Mac actually had a friendship in real life, so it's unwise to invalidate that--his open letter still feels distasteful and out of nowhere.
So much so that Anderson .Paak, the most cheerful man in modern-day hip-hop, took to Instagram to lay down the hammer. Though his initial post is still deleted, .Paak's scornful teardown is all the more powerful given its generally benevolent source. "If Devine feminine was such a blue print of your record then tell me where the plaques are for whatever your sh*t was called!!" he wrote. "Mac brought your ass on tour and opened up his fan base to you when you had nothing and this the type of appreciation you give?" Should you be interested in checking out .Paak's response, check that out right here.
It's all a lot to unpack, and to Goldlink's credit, he appears to be standing by his words for the time being; for now, the initial post remains active on his page. Unfortunately, it appears to be spiraling into a genuine PR nightmare, from the Twitter-verse all the way to our own HNHH comment section. In fact, here are a few takes from our users, many of whom agreed that Goldlink made a major misstep. Check out some of the main takeaways below.
