Q&A: Mac Miller having ‘Best Day Ever’

At 18, Pittsburgh native Mac Miller has managed to create some of the freshest material to hit the hip-hop scene in quite some time — and people are noticing. With collective buzz to the tune of “the next up and coming rapper out there,” Miller has mastered smart rhymes and paired them with beats reminiscent of the early days of his genre, and he is showing no signs of slowing down.

In the heat of his recent “Incredibly Dope” tour, Miller will be making a stop at The Bishop and The Bluebird Nightclub today.

The Indiana Daily Student was able to catch up with him and ask a few questions about his rise to fame, inspirations and dream collaborators.

IDS When did you realize you could pursue rapping as a career?
MILLER I have always had a strong belief in myself. Since day one, I knew that I could do it if I really worked at it. When I was 17 and started getting more buzz, that’s when I got really serious about rapping as a career.

IDS What has been your favorite touring experience so far?
MILLER The first time I was in Orlando was crazy. There must have been over 7,000 people there — the place was just packed. People were wall to wall, standing on tables, and they all knew the words.

IDS What puts you most in the mood to write your lyrics?
MILLER You have to be in different moods to write different songs. If I’ve just gotten home from a really crazy party, I’ll be in the mood to write a crazy party song. If I’m in a mellower mood, a calmer song will come out. I just let the mood-telling factors dictate what I write.

IDS: Your beats are also really different. How do you come up with the beats that match your lyrics?
MILLER: It actually depends. Someone will send me a beat, and I will listen to it and write lyrics for it, or I can write lyrics first then find a beat to match. But sometimes I’ll write lyrics and come up with a beat at the same time. It’s never a routine thing for me.

IDS: If you could collaborate with any other artist, who would it be and why?
MILLER: Right now I have a couple of dream collaborations, but number one would have to be Kanye. I am a huge Kanye fan, and he is huge right now — that’s the dream.

IDS Where do you see yourself in the next couple of years? What are your plans?
MILLER My plan is to just not have a plan. Everything is so great right now but was very unexpected — it all came so fast. Right now I’m working on a new project called “Best Day Ever” set to drop early next year. I collaborated with some of my favorite people ever for it and am really excited for it.