Mac Miller’s family slam ‘exploitative’ biography

Mac Miller’s family has spoken out against an upcoming biography of the late rapper, branding it ‘exploitative’.

In 2018, Miller died aged 26 of an accidental overdose.

A book about his life, Most Dope: The Extraordinary Life of Mac Miller by Paul Cantor, is set to be published early next year – but Karen Meyers, Miller’s mother, has said that his family has not approved the book.

She wrote in a statement on Instagram: ‘This book is not authorized or endorsed by Malcolm’s family and has been written by a writer with whom Malcolm did not have a relationship.

‘Furthermore, the writer had no meaningful access to those that were closest to Malcolm – friends, family and collaborators etc. In fact, the writer of this book was made aware at the outset of the process of writing this book that the family and friends of Malcolm were uncomfortable with him authoring this biography, yet he chose to proceed against our polite insistence that he not do disservice to Malcolm’s legacy through writing a book without legitimate primary sources.

‘While we can’t definitively speak to the intention, we cannot help but feel the timing of it being made available for pre-order is meant to capitalize on the interest in Donna-Claire Chesman’s recently announced The Book of Mac, with the expectation that people will confuse this book for Donna’s, which does have the support of the estate and includes extensive interviews with people whom Malcolm held dear.

‘What we can say, definitively, however, is that Most Dope: The Extraordinary Ltife Of Mac Miller’s planned release date of January 18th, the day before Malcolm’s birthday, is not accidental.

‘We have been consistently disappointed by the author and publisher’s decision to pursue this book given their full understanding of our discomfort with the circumstances under which it was authored, but utilizing Malcolm’s birthdate as a marketing tool is exploitative and extremely disappointing.

‘With that in mind we urge those that wish to support Malcolm and his legacy to abstain from purchasing this new book.’

Cantor has challenged Meyers’ claims.

He told PageSix in a statement: ‘I’m a journalist with nearly 20 years of experience, having been fair and honest in my reporting on the biggest celebrities to people in the smallest corners of everyday life.

‘My credibility is unimpeachable and I don’t take his family’s claims lightly. It’s unfortunate that they feel this way.’

He claims that the family statement is ‘factually inaccurate’, stating: ‘They were made aware of the book at its inception with the utmost best intentions, and they chose to not participate — which I respected.

‘This book was approached with love and care. And [Miller]’s friends and other people close to him, as well as numerous people in the music industry, did willingly speak to me. I sat through countless hours of long interviews, many of them emotional and revealing.’

He added to the publication that Miller ‘was and still is an important artist and it is unfortunate that he passed away in such tragic circumstances.’

‘I believe my book explores and contextualizes the life and art that he left behind,’ he added. ‘I stand behind my reporting. I stand behind my book. And I believe that the work will speak for itself.’

In a message to Miller’s family, Cantor said: ‘My heart goes out to his family. Nothing that I can say here can heal the pain of losing their son. I carried that with me in every sentence I wrote.’

Following Miller’s death, fans have been celebrating his legacy, with the star earning a platinum certification for his 2018 album Swimming earlier this year.

Last year, his family also released a deluxe edition of his posthumous album Circles, which he was working on at the time of his death.

A statement by his family at the time read: ‘Here we are. The act of having to write this at all feels surreal. At the time of his passing, Malcolm was well into the process of recording his companion album to Swimming, entitled Circles.

‘Two different styles complementing each other, completing a circle – Swimming in Circles was the concept. He had been working with Jon Brion, who after hearing some early versions of songs, cleared his calendar to help Malcolm fine-tune them.’

Metro.co.uk has contacted Abrams Press for comment.

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