In anticipation of his performance at Elon University’s Spring Show March 30, rapper Mac Miller spoke to The Pendulum about his musical influences, career goals and his journey in the industry thus far. Based out of Pittsburgh, Miller has released multiple mixtapes, as well as one studio album, “Blue Slide Park.” Several of his singles, including “Knock Knock” and “Donald Trump,” have had success throughout the last year.
Q: Who would you say were some of your biggest influences growing up?
A: The Beatles and Outkast were two of my huge influences. Big L, A Tribe Called Quest and a little bit of Pink Floyd are also influences.
Q: That’s a fairly wide range of artists. Have you always wanted to be a rapper, or did you have interest in other music genres?
A: When I was 12, I used to sing and play songs on the guitar, but I couldn’t sing very good. I rap better than I sing, so then I fell in love with the art of being an emcee. Initially when I was younger, I was always about being John Lennon.
Q: For those who have never heard your music, how would you describe your sound and style?
A: You get a little bit of everything with my music. My feeling is, I like to create the music I like to listen to, and I like to listen to all kinds of music, so I try to reflect that in my music.
Q: I know you’re from Pittsburgh and you’re pretty proud of that. What kind of influence has Pittsburgh had on your development as a popular artist?
A: I think you’re a product of your environment, and my environment is one that works pretty hard. Pittsburgh is an environment where people work very hard to get to where they’re at. For me, that’s always what it was, hard work no matter what. For me, that was being in the studio, trying to grind and promote, doing whatever I could to make this happen. And that’s kind of what came from Pittsburgh.
Q: Elon’s Spring Show has become a really popular event for the students. Are you excited to play for an audience that’s almost solely in your age group?
A: I love playing music for my peers. It’s comfortable. It’s like going to a party with people that you know, that you feel like are around your age. I’m excited it’s going to be a good time and a good experience.
Q: Along those lines, you’re obviously still pretty young. Where do you see yourself in the next five years, musically?
A: I always have trouble with this question. I just see myself growing and doing whatever it is I need to. My hope is to be an icon. That’s my plan. My plan is to be an icon in music. My plan is to have Grammys. I want to be one of the best ever, and I think everyone should have that mentality in what they do.