Mac Miller was, undeniably, one of the most influential and important hip-hop artists of the new millennium, and some major figures in the genre may not even be who they are had it not been for his inspiration. Take, for example, Chance the Rapper, who says that Miller convinced him to keep a famous ad-libbed line on one of his earliest studio recordings.
During a recent appearance on the Bootleg Kev podcast, Chance spoke about going to Los Angeles to work on his breakout mixtape, 10 Day (2012), with producer Chuck Inglish, of The Cool Kids. It was here that Miller’s intuition changed Chance’s life forever when he convinced the Chicago rapper to keep a moment that would go on to become part of his signature sound.
“I’m standing in the booth… my first time in a real studio in L.A. I feel, you know, a lot of weight on it,” Chance recalled of recording “14,400 Minutes,” the opening track of 10 Day. Growing more and nervous by the second, Chance noted that he was “trying to, like, charge up and I’m going, ‘ah, ah!’”
The playful little shrieks were something he was just doing to try and release some anxiety, but they turned out to be so much more, as Miller — who’d snuck into the control room — thought they were an invaluable addition to the track. “Mac told somebody to tell me… to keep that at the beginning,” Chance shared. “That’s hot.”
Chance also confessed that he doesn’t “know why I never told that story” before now, but added that he was grateful to be able to learn from Miller as “the little brother… with no name at that time,” something that helped to share his entire musical identity.
Mac Miller passed away on Nov. 5, 2018. The L.A. County Coroner’s Office later released its report on the rapper’s death, stating that he died from an accidental drug overdose due to a “mixed drug toxicity” of fentanyl, cocaine, and alcohol.
Last year, the late rapper’s estate released his long-lost album, Balloonerism, and it landed in the number one spot on multiple Billboard album charts, including Top Album Sales, Top Rap Albums, Vinyl Albums, and Indie Store Album Sales. In addition to the album sales charts, seven Balloonerism tracks made their way onto the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Several years after his tragic death, Mac Miller is still setting records.
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