Hip Hop has long been known for the use of alternate personas in artists such as Eminem, Wu-Tang Clan, DMX, and others.
In an interview with HardKnockTV, Mac Miller discussed his use of the creative tool, starting with his “Larry Fisherman” persona, under which he released the instrumental mixtape Run-On Sentences Vol. 1.
“I like creating these characters because I feel like the identity of Mac Miller is… to me, I don’t even know who ‘Mac Miller the Artist’ is, like what I represent, what I stand for. The thing I like about these characters is I feel like I can bring all these pieces of myself and emphasize them,” explained Mac.
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“Larry Fisherman represents the part of me that’s a completely nasty studio rat,” he elaborated. “In reality, I’m a pretty gross human being. I don’t shower until like 9:30 PM, right before I go on stage. When I’m in the studio, I’ll just go weeks straight. So that’s the studio rat aspect of me.”
Mac was also asked about the “Larry Lovestein” persona, under which he released the You EP in 2012.
“I’m also a big softy at heart,” he explained, smiling. “I think everyone always knew that. I don’t think I ever really gave off the tough vibe. But there’s that side of me as well. Larry Lovestein is…I’ve kinda have always had this random fantasy of being a seventy-year-old Lounge Jazz singer with a hairy chest that I always show to people, and a thick ‘stache, because I can grow facial hair everywhere beside the mustache. Pisses me the fuck off. Why can’t I grow a nice, illustrious ‘stache? So Larry Lovestein is kinda that, the old-fashioned, classic Jazz singer guy.”
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Finally, Miller spoke about Watching Movies with the Sound Off, his second studio album, and how it was as personal as his earlier works. “This is the funny thing: everywhere I go, I hear people talk about this huge shift and change in music. ‘Oh, you never touched on anything in your music before, and you’re suddenly [doing that].’ I think that the difference was that this one just had more of it.”
“All that music was always there; it just never took up the majority of the album. I think this one’s a little more like that. I think I’m just getting more comfortable with the idea of an album not having all these singles that are things that lead to albums but having these pieces in there. Which is cool.”
Watch the interview below:
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