Touching tribute to Mac Miller reflects the rapper’s broad tastes
Members of the hip-hop and R&B world — some who had their careers advanced by Mac Miller, others who were just friends or fans — gathered Wednesday at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles to honor the late Pittsburgh rapper.
Miller, who grew up in Point Breeze as Malcolm McCormick and started breaking out nationally during his later years at Allderdice High School, died suddenly on Sept. 7 at 26 of an apparent drug overdose. He was remembered with a hometown vigil a day later at Blue Slide Park in Squirrel Hill.
“Mac Miller: A Celebration of Life” was the first major concert devoted to his legacy. Presented by the McCormick family, along with 4 Strikes management and Live Nation, it benefited and honored the launch of the Mac Miller Circles Fund, part of The Pittsburgh Foundation, supporting youth arts and community-building programs. To support the MMCF, visit http://tmmcf.org.
The lineup was set to feature Action Bronson , Anderson .Paak, Chance the Rapper, Dylan Reynolds, Domo Genesis, Earl Sweatshirt, J.I.D, John Mayer, Miguel, Njomza, ScHoolboy Q, SZA, Thundercat, Travis Scott, Ty Dolla $ign and Vince Staples.
The theater holds 5,800 people and was full. When the concert began, just after 7 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time with his childhood best friend Dylan Reynolds doing an acoustic version of “Come Back to Earth,” there were about 40,000 people streaming it on YouTube, eventually inching up toward 50,000.
“This is a weird night, and I know there’s a lot of emotion, but it’s also Halloween and it’s a celebration,” said Earl Sweatshirt before launching into the minimalism of “Guild.”
Njomza, the soulful singer from Chicago, who appeared on “Divine Feminine” and was signed to Miller’s Remember Music label, came out sporting aqua hair and did a song with the sweet hook of “I miss you-ooo.”
Backed by a live band and a screen flashing photos of Miller, many of the rappers performed songs that were Mac collaborations, like LA rapper and Odd Future member Domo Genesis doing “Coming Back” and Action Bronson, the rapper from Queens, pushing “Red Dot Music,” from “Watching Movies With the Sound Off.”
Ty Dolla $ign made good use of the live band, jamming on bass to “Cinderella,” bringing Pittsburgh rapper Chevy Woods out for “Paper Route” and adding a jolt of rap-metal into the show down in the crowd.
The concert represented Mac’s broad tastes with Thundercat, also on bass, bringing some P-funk-style jam to the festivities with “Them Changes,” joined by John Mayer on guitar. Mr. Mayer, admitting he was nervous, returned to do “Small Worlds,” showing how seamlessly it can be translated into one of his own songs. He added a nifty little guitar solo that would have been sweet on the “Swimming” version. He stayed in that mellow mode with his own “Gravity,” at least till the scorching solo at the end.
Anderson .Paak, doubling on drums and vocals, led the band into a Latin groove with “Dang!,” the smooth track he did with Mac on “The Divine Feminine.” Miguel and SZA, the night’s most gifted singers, worked the crowd with the uptempo R&B of “Pineapple Skies” and “Love Galore,” respectively.
“Without Mac, there would be no me,” the Grammy-nominated SZA said. “He gave a lot of us our first chance.”
Mississippi trap duo Rae Sremmurd injected a whole different wild energy with “No Type” and “Powerglide.” Chance the Rapper, one of the closest artists to Mac, stylistically, elevated the lyrical content with “Blessings,” “Work Out” and “No Problem” to a crowd that knew every word.
He thanked the Pittsburgh rapper for, among other things, “the friendships you built through your music and your artistry.”
Finally, Travis Scott, the latest arena headliner, hit the stage hard with “Goosebumps” while also sharing a message of love and tolerance for all races.
“We all know Mac is watching over us,” he said. “He’s gonna keep us safe in this world.”
DJ Zane Lowe spoke eloquently of Miller’s creativity and his knack for bringing it out in other artists. At the request of the McCormick family, he led the crowd in a moment of silence for the victims of the Tree of Life shooting. Miller grew up less than a mile from the synagogue.
The evening was filled with video montages of Mac in all his glory, from precocious toddler to comic cutup to disciplined studio musician to rowdy stage performer.
Some stars not on the bill sent their tributes via video (although no sign of Wiz Khalifa). Childish Gambino (Donald Glover) said of Miller, “You were a really necessary and intelligent light.”
EDM star Dillon Francis noted, “You were the funniest dude in the room. … Your craftsmanship was mind blowing.”
Lil Wayne offered, “If you aren’t a Mac Miller fan … go back and listen to him.”