Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller recently opened up about his past struggles with drug usage and how negative reviews for his Blue Slide Park solo album pushed him to the edge.
According to Miller, he took some bad press to heart and downed his troubles away with drugs.
Mac took the bad reviews to heart. They didn't just piss him off; they sent him into a personal tailspin. His problems got worse once he started the Macadelic Tour in March 2012. For the first leg of the tour, he played nothing but colleges, venues that did nothing to dispel the perception that the young MC was nothing more than a "frat rapper." Over six grueling months he played 53 shows, including 20 in Europe ("Going through customs every day is not fun," said his entourage). To help manage the stress he started using promethazine. Somewhere along the way he became addicted. "I love lean; it's great," says Mac. But during the Macadelic tour things got out of hand. "I was not happy and I was on lean very heavy," he admits. "I was so f*cked up all the time it was bad. My friends couldn't even look at me the same. I was lost." (Complex)
After some tough struggles, Miller eventually conquered his addiction last fall.
As Mac's addiction grew more serious, his inner circle urged him to quit. He tried going cold turkey, but always wound up binging. It was just last November, before he started shooting the reality show, that Mac quit lean for good. "For how much he was drinking," says [childhood friend] Jimmy, "it's unbelievable that he stopped. It's definitely one of the most impressive things he's ever done." (Complex)
In November 2011, the rapper's Blue Slide Park crushed its competition atop the sales chart.
Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller's Blue Slide Park debuted this week at No. 1. According to Nielsen SoundScan, the rap newcomer's LP has sold 144,500 copies after seven days in stores. (SOHH Sales Wrap)
Shortly after its chart-topping success, Miller spoke out on the accomplishment.
"It's crazy. I've been trying to take it all in," Miller said in an interview. "I've just been in constant motion, so I haven't gotten a chance to really stop and realize how crazy this is that we got the first #1 in 16 years. It's nuts, man. I never really got far enough to see an offer for real -- I got no hatred towards major labels or anything. I never got a chance to hear what they had to say. We just really wanted to stick with our home team and keep it in the family. [The major labels] called [Rostrum Records founder] Benjy and wanted to talk, but Benjy was just on some 'We're not trying to talk right now, we're doin' this independently.' And we just left it at that." (MTV)
Check out a recent Mac Miller interview:
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