Mac Miller is an artist that I’ll always hold very highly in my heart. His music has helped me through some incredibly difficult times in my life, and in the process I’ve developed a strong bond with the art he’s created. My love for Mac and his music has only grown as my life goes on, even more than I thought possible. The music truly connects with me, and I can always find a song in Mac’s discography that can describe the exact emotion I’m feeling at any given time.
For those who don’t know, Mac Miller was a prolific artist from Pittsburgh who rose to fame at 18 years old with his 2010 release, K.I.D.S.. However, he started making music when he was just 15, first releasing But My Mackin’ Ain’t Easy under the name of “Easy Mac” in 2007. Over the course of his career, Mac was very transparent in his music, thinking deeply about his struggles with depression and addiction. In 2018, just months after the release of Swimming, Mac passed away due to an accidental overdose. Though he is no longer living, his influence will continue to live on.
So, to further connect with some of my favorite music, I decided to travel to Mac’s beloved home city of Pittsburgh to visit specific locations mentioned in Mac’s songs and featured in music videos (thank you for the push Michael). So, my dad and I set out across the state to make it happen. In the ten hour long ride there and back, I made my dad listen and review entire albums included in Mac’s discography, starting from K.I.D.S. and ending with Circles. You can check that out here.
Once we made it to Pittsburgh and stopped at some of these locations, it was impossible not to feel the love Mac’s fans have for him. Our first stop: Blue Slide Park.
Slide’s still blue, why the world keep tryin’ to paint it?
Blue Slide Park is a small park inside the greater Frick Park. It’s home to the iconic weathered slide mentioned in many songs and featured in the imagery of Blue Slide Park’s album cover. On “English Lane,” the opening track of the album, Mac writes, “Sometimes I just wanna go / Back to Blue Slide Park, the only place I call home / I hope it’s never all gone, don’t think it’s ever all gone.” It felt strange to be staring at a famous slide, but it was even more special to be standing in a place that was so important to Mac’s early days. I can absolutely understand the fond memories of the park too, it’s beautiful. While sitting atop the slide, you overlook all of Blue Slide Park before you take that trip down to the bottom. Check out this view:
However, while I was up at the top, I noticed a bench and picnic table completely covered in marker. When I got closer I could see that there were hundreds of notes written to Mac on every inch of the bench and all across the surface of the table. It warmed my heart not only to see how many people Mac impacted, but also how many of them felt strongly enough about it to write to him. Little did I know that the writing on the bench was just the beginning…
Anything you need, you can find it at the market.
The opening of the fifth track on Blue Slide Park, “Frick Park Market,” has Mac Miller ordering a sandwich: “Uh, let me get a turkey sandwich, uh, lettuce, tomato.” Since I was visiting Mac’s favorite spots, it was a no brainer to get lunch at Frick Park Market. As soon as I walked in, I noticed some photos on the walls of Mac standing behind the counter making sandwiches and others of him setting up the music video for “Frick Park Market” that was also shot inside the building. While my dad and I were looking at the pictures we met the current owner, a man named Dave Gancy, who told us about the history of the market.
Dave explained how he came into ownership of the market and also recalled the stories of Barbara and Ron Fuchs, the previous owners. He said that Ron lives just down the street and comes in every day to paint and enjoy the customers. Unfortunately he was not there while we were, so I did not get a chance to meet him. We were given a tour of the building and the garage that they use for a seating area, where Dave pointed out all of Ron’s artwork and various locations from Mac’s video. When we went back inside, I stood right behind the counter where Mac is in his video which was a bit of a starstruck moment for me. Never thought I’d say that about a deli counter…
On top of all of that, Dave brought out three notebooks to show us. He said that Mac’s mother is still a regular at the market and he keeps these notebooks so that people can write notes to her or to Mac and then gives them to her when they’re filled up. I was moved by the sentiment and felt it was a clear sign of just how caring and interconnected this neighborhood is, maybe even more so after Mac’s passing.
Before moving on to the next stop, my dad and I ordered some sandwiches and I discovered exactly why it’s a famous spot. I ordered “The Leroi,” which is a wrap with cajun turkey, swiss cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato and honey mustard. It was incredibly delicious. I want another. My dad ordered “The Dallas,” which had smoked turkey, cheddar cheese, and coleslaw on a sourdough roll. Though he said it was good, he also mentioned that he should’ve known by the name that it wouldn’t be as good as mine (Dallas sucks). After we refueled with some food, we headed down the street a bit to the other side of Frick Park, where we’d find our next location.
If life is but a dream then so are we.
We walked down Reynolds Street to get to the main entrance archway of Frick Park. This is the very same street that the two women are walking down at the beginning of Mac’s “Knock Knock” music video. When we entered Frick Park we could also see the area in the park that is featured at the very beginning of the “Party on Fifth Ave” music video. It was really cool to see these scenes unfold in my head as I walked through them for myself. I felt like I was stepping into a movie set (for Mac though, it was probably about the same as if I was filming at my neighborhood park).
At the top of a hill alongside the edge of the park sits a bench dedicated to Mac Miller. It sits right on the side of a hill and overlooks a large section of the park. Similar to the bench at Blue Slide Park, this one is also covered in little notes and drawings for Mac, however I was particularly drawn to the plaque on the bench. It reads, “If life is but a dream, then so are we. – Mac Miller” which is a quote from the song “I Can See” on Circles. This is one of my favorite lines from any of his songs (there are quite a few favorites by the way), but its placement on a handwriting-covered bench overlooking a park felt special. If I was sitting on one side of the bench, it felt like Mac could be sitting next to me on the other side. It was too perfect of a tribute for him not to enjoy.
And you don’t have to be scared, no, I’ll be there…
Our final stop was in East Liberty, home of the massive Mac Miller mural. According to an article written by Bill O’Toole, the project was started by Kyle Holbrook, who designed the mural further down the wall for the community arts program Moving the Lives of Kids Mural Project. In 2008, Mac was a part of the project and assisted in painting the mural. Then when he began rapping, he worked with Holbrook to run fundraising concerts to help out the program.
A year after Mac’s passing, Holbrook designed the plans to install a Mac Miller mural permanently next to the mural Mac helped paint when he was younger. However, what made this project special was that he wanted it to be a community project. Holbrook invited fans, community members, and Pittsburgh residents to come out and help paint the mural in any way they wanted to. Learning this only further cemented my understanding of how much this city loved Mac Miller. It was touching to think of the impact a single individual can have on a community, just by chasing his dreams and staying true to himself along the way. I can’t even begin to imagine how strong the city’s love for him might be if he was still here today.
Now, it’s been a few years since the mural was finished, but there are still additions being made to it every day. In fact, I added my own while I was there. I was blown away by the amount of notes of love, praise, and thanks written all over the mural. The benches were one thing, but there was ink on every centimeter of that wall where Mac is painted. It was truly powerful to see. The notes range from song quotes to thanks, here are some of my favorite sections of the wall:
Mac Miller is an incredibly special artist to me. One that I never get sick of, no matter how much I listen. And one that truly makes me feel seen and understood as I navigate our world. I knew that he loved his home city, and that his home city loved him, but it was unreal to see the full extent of that love. It’s something I’ll never forget. If any of you out there are Mac fans like myself, I very strongly recommend taking a hike across the state and seeing some of these places for yourself. It’s truly special, just like Mac was.
