11 ways Mac Miller helped define an era of rap

Though known for his rhymes behind the mic, Miller was just as varied and prolific in his output as a producer, having cooked beats up for not only himself, but also SZA, Lil B, Ab-Soul, and Vince Staples.

His ear for the musical seems to be one he was naturally gifted with, having taught himself how to play the bass, drums, guitar, and piano.

In addition to his creative outputs as both rapper and producer, Miller also has a single acting credit to his name – which, bizarrely enough, is 2013’s Charlie-Sheen-starring Scary Movie 5.

It wasn’t just a producer that Miller night-timed as – he also recorded music under a Bowie-esque spectrum of different, genre-specific aliases, from the chipmunk’d horrocore of Delusional Thomas to the lush jazz of Larry Lovestein (pictured).

There was once a time when Donald Trump was just that dumb game show host who yelled a lot on Twitter, and for a reminder of a simpler time, check out the months-long screed Trump embarked on, yelling at the young rapper for using his name on a song that had millions of hits and no royalties paid to the now-President.

Mac’s 2010 mixtape KIDS hit at just the right time, immediately propelling the rapper into the spotlight alongside Kid Cudi and Big Sean. For further proof of Miller’s rapid ascendance, check out his first-ever tour – which he sold out every show on, an incredible feat for a first-time tour from an independent artist.

June 18th, 2013 saw a battle between three defining forces of early-2010’s hip hop, with J. Cole’s Born Sinner, Kanye’s Yeezus, and Mac’s Watching Movies With the Sound off all dropping that day. The fact that Miller’s name is in the same breath as Kanye and Cole is proof that he was among the greats.

Miller also shares an achievement with Scary Movie 5 co-star Snoop Dogg, with the two being the only two hip hop artists to score No.1 albums through independently-released projects – Snoop for 1995’s Doggpound posse comp, and Mac for 2011’s Blue Slide Park.

Say what you will about XXL’s annual Freshman class, looking back at 2011’s student body truly is a prophetic snapshot of what rap was to shift toward heading into the midpoint of the decade, with the class counting YG, Meek Mill, Lil B, Kendrick Lamar, and Mac himself amongst its membership.

Not one to be content with ruling the sphere of music – both the production and rapping side of things ¬– Mac also set his sights on conquering Silicon Valley (or, more likely, promoting an album), dropping an alarm clock app in anticipation of his album GO:OD AM, with snippets from the album replacing the tired sounds of your iPhone buzzer.

Once of the equally heartwarming and heartwrenching things to come out of Miller’s untimely passing is seeing just how many fellow musical minds he shared love with. Evdience of strong bromances with everyone from Earl Sweatshirt, Schoolboy Q, Wiz Khalifa, and Childish Gambino have popped up, and though its sad, there is some comfort in knowing they miss him just as much as we do.