K TheChosen K TheChosen

We're all walking each other home

Listening to Mac Miller’s second posthumous album, "Ballonerism" was a sobering but inspiring journey that led to me writing this blog entry about music and mortality.

My first blog post, and I decide to talk about music and death.

"Good grief", as Charlie Brown would say or "GO:OD AM" as Mac Miller might say.

Yes, this is foreshadowing.

I felt this was a good place to start as music and our mortality are such integral parts of the human experience. There's a connection we build the first time we hear a piece of music that resonates with us and our relationship with that song evolves over time. Similarly, with grief, exact details become hazy as time passes but we never forget the sound of their voice, their favourite song or how they made us feel. When we think of someone or some life event, we engage our senses to relive the memory and often associate a sound with that moment alongside what we saw, smelt and in some cases, tasted.

With this, I've noticed that the older I get, the more I reflect on my relationship with music and people. Especially in this age where they've been multiple releases of posthumous albums from Juice Wrld to Pop Smoke, I find some are really well done and others kind of feel like a cash grab. As a music fan, you always want more music from your favourite artist but as a musician I think the way music is released is just as important as the music itself. Personally, if I wasn't around to dictate the rollout of my music or had a detailed plan laid out, I wouldn't want it released. I appreciate that not every musician, fan or family feel the same way and Mac Miller's estate has been a great example of how to do things the right way.

Especially with this year’s release, Balloonerism.

I have a personal bias here as Mac has been one of my favourite artists since his Sway in the Morning freestyle. It was spicy, hilarious and true to his happy-go-lucky character which drew fans and friends to him. I never met him but he seemed to be a friendly person loved by everyone around him. However, his music covered dark topics like his own existential crises and battle with addiction. His talent as a musician, both an amazing storyteller and imaginative producer, shone through his deeply contemplative and emotionally moving music. It made me feel like I was a friend who was listening in on some very intimate conversations and inspired what's slowly becoming a bi-annual tradition. I travel home to Zimbabwe every couple of years and end up writing a verse to a Mac Miller instrumental upon my return to Calgary. They usually end up as reflective pieces on my current relationship with…[drum roll]… music and people!

Therapy Pt. 2 (K Verse) - 2023

5 Dollar Pony Rides (K Verse) - 2025

My 2022 project, +Vice (pronounced “add vice”), revolved around grief and the way different characters in the unnamed protagonists' life were affected by her untimely passing. I had recently lost my grandmother and aunt within a year of each other and had been unable to attend either funeral mainly due to the COVID pandemic. It was then when I truly felt the collective global experience of isolation and growing loneliness epidemic we are all going through. Mac helped me feel understood in his never ending questions about what it meant to be alive and what was waiting for us on the other side. I was moved when Petrichor, a song off +Vice, connected with people.Some even reached out and let me know they were processing loss too.

“We're all just walking each other home.”

A phrase my friend Jen introduced me to when I was writing songs for +Vice and researching how people process grief. The phrase is a title of a book by Mirabai Bush and Ram Dass that explores love, spirituality and death. Essentially, we need each other as guides and support systems as we venture through life.

Take this is a reminder for us to not only check in with each other but to also be gentle with ourselves as we navigate this weird variant of reality.

Love

-Mixtape K

Helpful resources for those processing grief, addiction or just looking for someone to talk to:

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