Mac Miller’s final music video has become even more eerie in hindsight, with some fans wondering if the rapper predicted his own death.
In August, Miller released a video for the single “Self-Care” that showed the rapper buried in a casket. The video was filled with references to feeling in a downward spiral and falling back into addiction. In the wake of the rapper’s apparent overdose death on Friday, fans say the video seems to predict Miller’s death.
Miller released the video just weeks after his high-profile split from singer Ariana Grande, and the song itself seemed to be a raw look at the emotions that came with a relationship ending, and the downward spiral of a DUI charge he received months before.
The music video starts with Mac Miller buried in a simple wooden casket, appearing to reference a scene from the movie Kill Bill, in which the protagonist punches her way out of a casket after being buried alive. Miller was also able to escape his casket in the “Self-Care” video, though the song itself appeared to deal with some heavy topics including falling back into addiction.
“You keep on sayin’ you in love so / Tell me are you really down? Are you really down? Yeah / It’s safer there, I know there’s still a war outside / We spend our nights all liquored up, our mornings high / Can you feel it now?”
In the video itself, Miller carves the Latin phrase “Memento mori” into the casket — a saying which is commonly translated as “Remember that you have to die.” The existential phrase is commonly seen as a reminder of the transient nature of material things, and has a special meaning in art as a work that reminds audiences of the fragility of life.
I wondered why Mac Miller carved out the saying Memento mori, “Remember Death” in the Self Care video. But know about the break up and everything, seems like he was in a dark place. The video takes on a new meaning. pic.twitter.com/SiuV3d6mBD
— UrbanNoizeRmx (@UrbanNoize2) September 7, 2018
Mac Miller, the rapper, singer and record producer behind songs “Self Care” and “Smile Back,” has died at 26. https://t.co/GQL4qVPUII
— NBC4 Washington (@nbcwashington) September 7, 2018
Mac Miller was open about his struggles with addiction, telling Complex that the success of his breakout album B lue Slide Park was a double-edged sword, as the criticism that came with it led him on a path toward an addiction to promethazine, known as lean.
“A lot of the reviews were more on me as a person,” he said. “To be honest, that was even worse. You’re 19, you’re so excited to put out your first album, you put it out — and no one has any respect for you or for what you did.”
Mac Miller’s death has brought an outpouring of condolences from both fans and fellow musicians, and the “Self-Care” video itself has found viral attention as fans share the artist’s final work.
