Vince Staples recalls how Mac Miller changed his life, reflecting on a major act of generosity during the “Stolen Youth” era.
During his lifetime, Mac Miller impacted the lives of many of his peers. He brought EarthGang on their first tour. He bonded and worked with Earl Sweatshirt after the rapper returned from a brief hiatus. And as it happens, he also played a pivotal role in helping Vince Staples‘ own rap career take shape, as the Long Beach emcee explained during a recent Drink Champs appearance.
“Earl had come back and I was moving around with him making sure you know he was straight and shit,” explains Vince, who had yet to really dive into pursuing music on a serious level. “I introduced myself to him and he was like, ‘I know who you are. Why don’t you make beats or whatever? Why don’t you make music?’ I say ‘I don’t got any beats.’ He’s like, ‘aight, I’ll make you some beats, come over here on Friday.’ And that’s how we ended up making music and being cool.”
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Mac fans already know all about Larry Fisherman. During the era Vince is speaking on, Mac was basically living in the studio, working on music with Earl Sweatshirt, Tyler, The Creator, ScHoolboy Q, and more. This period also saw the releases of some of Mac’s most beloved works — Watching Movies With The Sound Off, Faces, and even the cult-favorite Delusional Thomas.
“He took me on tour and he didn’t want no publishing,” Vince revealed. “He said, ‘If you make a million dollars buy me an S-Class Benz or something like that.’ The whole Stolen Youth project, he gave me ownership of it. He just said if you if you make a gang of money just give me like an S-Class — and then took me on the road and paid for my room and board and still paid me. So yeah you know that was the homie.”
He goes even further to provide additional context, revealing that Mac’s generosity arose during a dark period in Vince’s life. “He did more for me…in the time of my life when I needed it,” Vince explained. “At that point I already put two music projects out and I wasn’t fucking with it. I was like I’m gonna go back to what I know type shit. My cousin just got shot and he almost died so that turned it all the way up for me you know. My focus wasn’t on music at all.”
For much more insight from Vince Staples, be sure to check out the rapper’s full interview on Drink Champs below — it’s a good one, lined with plenty of gems.