Meet Mac Miller

As a Canadian, I often find it difficult to dissociate myself from my nation’s past time: hockey (although, contrary to popular belief, it is not Canada’s national sport). So this week I am bringing to you a little treasure that hockey brought to my attention. This season of the HBO show 24/7: The Road to the NHL Winter Classic followed the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers in the weeks leading up to the Winter Classic – an outdoor hockey match shortly after New Years. In the first episode, the Flyers returning to their dressing room after a victory and immediately began celebrating by playing Mac Miller’s “Knock Knock”. Turns out they play the song after every win and pretty soon this tune was even popping up on SportsCenter. Rather ironically, Mac Miller is from Pittsburgh, home to one of Philadelphia’s biggest rivals. 

Anyhow, enough about hockey. Mac Miller is featured on the remix of Maroon 5’s “Moves Like Jagger” and was acknowledged by none other than Donald Trump as the “new Eminem” – although that comment probably has more to do with Mac Miller’s skin color than anything else. His first full album was released in the second half of 2011 and yet he seems to produce new music for any circumstance, including creating a 13 song mixtape entitled “I Love Life, Thank You” after reaching 1,000,000 followers on Twitter. With all of this music, he has managed a steady presence in my music rotation – I highly recommend giving his songs “Senior Skip Day” or “Another Night” a listen if you want a more casual rap experience. All in all, Mac Miller has started off his career with a bang, as it was only two weeks ago that he turned 20. Keep your ears open to see if Donald Trump’s prediction holds, potentially making him a better rap critic than politician… who would have known? 

- Doug Ross, Crazian Canadians (Tuesdays from 8-10pm @ WQHS.org)