The Book of Mac by Donna-Claire Chesman

Author:Donna-Claire Chesman [Chesman, Donna-Claire]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781637580691
Publisher: Permuted Platinum
Published: 2021-09-08T06:01:56+00:00

Mac Miller Was No Traditional Superhero

“Somebody do something / Yeah, yeah, yeah / Somebody move something”

—“S.D.S.”

Mac Miller did not want to be a superhero. He became one anyway. First as the hero of big drinkers and partygoers everywhere, then as a hero for the emotionally cut up crowd, and, finally, as a hero to those who worked hard to feel better. Through it all, Mac Miller remained Malcolm. Remained enamored with music, creation, and collaboration. The superhero motif Mac employed throughout his work was subtle, but stood to represent his ultimate desire of “going down as a great one” without all the frills that come with hero status.

Mac tucked nuggets of truth into his music. Due to his increasing vulnerability, sometimes the most honest realizations were breadcrumbed from song to song for us to follow. In tracking the motif, we not only get a more holistic picture of Mac Miller, we also get the sense that no matter how much he changed, his love for the art was always on the upswing.

“Misogynistic with a twisted mind, I’m intertwined / My trigger finger itching, all I kill is time / Initial symptoms of schizophrenic behavior / The mind is like religion, can’t agree on who’s its savior / The newest flavor of superhero, I’m shooting lasers”

—“I Am Who Am”

There is much to be written about “I Am Who Am,” one of Mac Miller’s best songs. When we think of celebrity worship and aggrandizement, the things he is attempting to run from in his catalog, flashes of the first verse paint a sordid picture of his take on playing the hero: “Praise me I’d rather you not / Cause it’s driving me crazy / The fact that you pay to make me into something I love.” These bars signify that the weight of the praise, the avenues it can send a man down, can prove deadly. Celebrity, fame, money, access: all of these worked in concert to fuel Miller’s terminal addiction. Recognizing the deadly combination, he is afraid.

Mac Miller was no traditional superhero. Let’s call this a defense mechanism. In the final verse, Mac portrays himself as consorting with villains, killing civilians, and shrugging at the binary concept of good and evil. He can be monstrous to himself, he suggests. How, then, can we reasonably expect him to save us? The ask of “I Am Who Am” is to leave Mac Miller to his own devices, to enjoy the music and place the pressure, even when it’s well-meaning, on someone else. With that, we are left with a troubling question: could this man really be a superhero? Perhaps more importantly, should he be?

Earlier, on “S.D.S.,” Mac is all but invincible, risking his life because he can. His shift from the hero of the night to ordinary guy takes root. Though he’s suited up as a superhero in the video, the hook and bridge, the absolution of his own responsibility, reveal something far more important: Mac Miller simply wants to be Mac Miller, make good art, and let the rest happen as it should.

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