Igår onsdag skulle Mac Miller ha fyllt 30 år, om en oavsiktlig överdos inte tagit hans liv i september 2018. Men trots att det gått mer än tre år sedan hans död, är det fortfarande många som håller honom nära i minnet. Inte minst vid denna högtid, då Rolling Stone valt att samla en rad av rapparens kollegor för att skriva ett öppet brev till sin vän och kollega.
Pittsburgh-kollegan Wiz Khalifa minns bland annat Mac med värme:
“Mac, I miss you, man. Today would have been your 30th birthday, you were gone too soon. I remember our early days back at ID Labs in Pixburgh with E. Dan making legendary music. You were the young homie coming up so fast and representing the Burgh.”
“We’ll never forget you, man. Love you, bro, happy birthday”, skriver Wiz.
Rapsody, som också jobbade och var på turné med Mac tidigt i deras respektive karriärer, framhäver hur varm, rolig och fri rapparen var.
“Mac! I wish you were still on this side with us. Your light, heart, energy, gift, and love of fruit snacks is what I miss dearly! I miss you pullin’ up to the stu with the fam, and fans you picked up after a show, so they could kick it while you lit the booth up”, skriver hon bland annat.
“We’d be like ‘Mac, who are all these people?’ and you’d just shrug, laugh, and say ‘I don’t know.’ Always a good time and adventure. True free spirit. Man, you kicked a door in for me early and we gon’ continue to carry your legacy through the doors we still walking through … I love you forever, Malcolm!”
Dreamville-rapparen JID skulle ha agerat förband till Mac Millers “Swimming”-turné 2018. Han minns vilket intryck “geniet” gjorde på honom.
“One of my favorite memories of you was being around while you were creating (specifically the Swimming album). You were a true genius and to watch you in your element was one of the most impactful things I’ve witnessed in my career, outside of you being a genuine human being and a friend to many.”
“I hope your legacy speaks to how much of a pioneer you were, sonically.”
En av Mac Millers närmsta vänner och kollegor var också Thundercat, som i sitt brev skriver med mycket känslor.
“I hope that on your birthday, the clarity, and places and spaces that you’ve always wanted to go to, see and feel — I hope that you feel that infinitely. I hope that you can see further than you’ve ever seen before. I hope that wherever you are, it’s funny. Gotta be funny. If it isn’t funny, it sucks”, skriver basisten och sångaren.
“I’ve been taking your advice — sitting down and letting it happen, extremely sitting down and letting it happen. And goodness, I’m happy that I’ve gotten to know you and spend this time with you because your life changed my life. I hope that wherever you are, you’re still changing people’s lives.”
I november erkände sig 48-åriga Stephen Andrew Walter och 38-åriga Ryan Michael Reavis skyldiga till att ha distribuerat de fentanylspetsade drogerna som orsakade Mac Millers överdos. Walter hävdar att han inte var medveten om att drogerna var spetsade, något som åklagarna dock inte håller med om.
Walters väntas få sin dom den 7 mars medan Reavis ska infinna sig i rätten den 4 april. Båda männen riskerar fängelsestraff på 20 år med övervakad frigivning resten av livet, samt 1 miljon dollar i böter.
"I hope that you can see further than you’ve ever seen before," Thundercat says in a note to Mac Miller shared with Rolling Stone. Today would have been Mac’s 30th birthday. Read tributes from Rapsody, Wiz Khalifa, and more friends of the late musician: https://t.co/WTrzVU22iN
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) January 19, 2022
Foto: G-L Askew II
