Mac Miller's Final Song 'Jet Fuel' and His Struggle with Addiction
When I first read the question, I said to myself: 'I have never heard the song 'Jet Fuel' and have never heard of Mac Miller. Sounds interesting let’s look it up.' The first action was to find the song and read the lyrics. While reading this the thought of impending disaster pervaded my mind. I actually said: 'This is going to end badly.' I still had not read about Mac Miller. The song had apparently come out in 2018.
Introduction to Mac Miller
The statement about Mac Miller was: Malcolm James McCormick, January 19, 1997—September 7, 2018, known professionally as Mac Miller, was an American rapper and record producer. Miller began his career in Pittsburgh’s hip-hop scene in 2007 at the age of 15. He died at age 26 in his Studio City home. His death was due to an acute drug intoxication with cocaine, fentanyl, and alcohol. Two men were charged with drug crimes and are serving prison terms of basically 18 years each. A very sad and unfortunate outcome. Apparently he had quite a bit of impact. Thousands were upset by his death. It reminded me a bit of Jimi Hendrix.
Lyrics Analysis: 'Jet Fuel'
The lyrics struck me as dangerous. I’m at a loss to comprehend a lot of what he was saying as I'm near 70 and he was 26 years old; he had come from a completely different place. It seemed that he was talking a lot about drugs that would make a person high, such as cocaine and opiates. Most of these people started out with alcohol, usually added cigarettes, and then added more expensive and esoteric drugs as they came into money. He felt very good about making a couple million from writing some lyric. He didn’t write these lyrics but he sang them. The lyrics are permeated by pride in his feats and a sense of power that he attributes to his super strong will to overcome adversity.
Hubris and the Pursuit of Pleasure
The word that kept coming to my mind was hubris: Hubris came to be defined as overweening presumption that leads a person to disregard the divinely fixed limits on human actions in an ordered cosmos. In mythology, hubris was a spirit daemon of insolence, violence, and outrageous behavior. Mac Miller was playing with forces that he did not understand and probably knew nothing about.
Risks of Prescription Drugs and Fentanyl
People using fentanyl are a very ignorant and basically stupid group of people. An AA acquaintance of mine came within minutes of dying in his home. I asked him what he was taking Oh you know, I was using the 2 milligram blue tablets of fentanyl. It was that and a bit of alcohol. I had done it before with no problem. Such prescription pills do not exist 2 milligrams of fentanyl in a pill. What you took was illegal and contained who know what! Do not take stuff you have no idea of what is in it. Fentanyl is at least a hundred times more potent than morphine. As a pain doctor, I never prescribed fentanyl, as legal fentanyl from the pharmacist was dangerous. Illegal fentanyl is infinitely more deadly...
Final Reflections on Mac Miller's Legacy
In conclusion, Mac Miller’s life and struggles, as reflected in his songs like 'Jet Fuel,' provide a stark reminder of the power and danger of addiction. His journey highlights the importance of understanding the risks associated with drug use and the need for support to overcome such challenges. Mac Miller’s legacy serves as a call to reflect on the choices we make and the consequences they may carry.
Keywords: Mac Miller, addiction, drug abuse