blurred_culture/InstagramA tribute mural to Mac Miller, the late great songwriter who is gone but not forgotten, has appeared in Brooklyn.
Miller, real name Malcolm James McCormick, died aged 26 after suffering cardiac arrest due to an accidental drug overdose of cocaine, fentanyl and alcohol in his Studio City home on September 7, 2018.
Since, tribute pieces to the Self Care singer have been spotted in North Carolina, Southern California, and most recently Brooklyn.
Five months after his death, though, a new mural has appeared to remind us of the loss and the important messages the Pittsburgh native shared through his music before his untimely death.
The artist was inspired to do so because they feel his death – and the issues surrounding its circumstances – has been ‘overlooked’.
The latest two-toned pink and blue take on Miller’s likeness has been created by NYC-based artist BKFoxx, who teamed up with a Bushwick collective, JMZ Walls, for the piece.
BKFoxx told Complex:
I think Mac Miller’s death had been kind of overlooked. It was such a shitty thing, he was only 26. And when someone ODs, it hurts.
Because in my generation, there’s been so much of it, we’re so used to burying friends and family members for that reason. And because I think to myself, how bad is living in this world for you that you just can’t?
Especially as an artist—I can say from experience it’s really difficult to be creative in a society that values money and trends more than culture and real individuality.
The mural, titled ‘Filters’, was completed in late January shortly after what would’ve been Miller’s 27th birthday.
Speaking about the mural dedicated to Miller, BKFoxx continued:
[The piece] is meant to be a representation of how we are complex and can be more than one thing at the same time.
We can show one face to the world while hiding another. Something I find helpful to be aware of when thinking about other people.
If you’re in the NYC area, you can check out the mural in person at 1065 Broadway in Brooklyn.
Self Care peaked at number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 22, 2018, two weeks after his death. It was his highest charting song as lead artist. Mac’s last album Swimming is nominated for Best Rap Album at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.
Miller always strived to be open about his struggles with addiction and mental health in his music and beyond.
Since his death the Mac Miller Circles Fund was established to support youth arts and community-building programs in his memory and had raised over $700,000 by January 2019.
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A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.