How Mac Miller’s ‘Cinderella’ Stormed the Charts 10 Years Later: ‘That Was Mac Talking From Heaven’
Categoria: Musica
Ty Dolla $ign, DJ Dahi and more reflect on the late rapper's 2026 resurgence.
Por Billboard | 13/10/2026
“I think a lot of times people just want to be cool, and to be in love is not cool. But I think it’s the coolest,” Mac Miller told Vogue over shots of espresso in 2016. “I think love is the coolest thing that there is.” The Divine Feminine — which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 — turned 10 in September and returned to the Billboard 200’s top 10 this week. The seminal album played an integral role in Miller’s artistic evolution from frat rapper to boundless musician, and saw the Pittsburgh native take a dreamy exploration into the complexities of love, intimacy and the “feminine energy of the planet,” as he put it. Eight years after his tragic passing from an accidental drug overdose at the much-too-early age of 26, Mac Miller’s catalog is more relevant than ever. He posthumously dominated the summer behind a scorching commercial resurgence from The Divine Feminine ‘s “Cinderella,” which became Miller’s second highest-charting single as a lead artist, reaching No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July. “I felt like that was Mac talking from heaven, man,” Ty Dolla $ign, who delivers a lovestruck hook on “Cinderella,” his first official collaboration with Mac Miller, tells Billboard . “I felt like he was speaking down to us like, ‘I’m not done yet.’ It’s like Mariah Carey: every Christmas her song comes back, we having one of those moments.” Falling hard for Ariana Grande fueled Mac’s eight-minute sultry expedition, which took form in early 2016 when DJ Dahi sent a Sunni Colon guitar loop to the Pittsburgh rapper. Dahi played the bassline with production from Aja Grant to complete the beautifully intoxicating instrumental and Mac got to writing a steamy diary entry about the girl of his dreams, pushing back against rap’s stereotypical machismo. Recorded at EastWest Studios in L.A. and Encore Studios in Burbank, Calif., Mac showed off his raspy singing voice while playing an early version for Ty Dolla $ign, who he wanted to sprinkle his hook magic. “I remember being nervous while doing it,” Ty recalls. Mac wasn’t present while he laid down vocals to an extensive chorus, painting a steamy picture of the lead-up to a euphoric night with a woman he’s had his sights set on. “You think about format — like, is this gonna play on the radio?” DJ Dahi remembers debates about cutting parts of Ty’s chorus to make the unconventional love song more digestible. “In my head, it’s like, ‘Maybe we should cut it’ — but you’re cutting half of what he said, so everyone was like, ‘Let’s just keep it.’ I loved it.” Dahi adds: “That was Mac’s favorite song on the album. He was like, ‘Oh, this is really special.’ It’s a little bittersweet because he’s not here to see the fruits of what he did.” Using love as a muse for creativity wasn’t foreign to Mac. He’s shown a penchant for lush arrangements and exploring the intricacies of romance earlier in his career on tracks like 2013’s Watching Movies Wit