Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images`
Back in June, Mac Miller’s first posthumous song arrived through his feature on Free Nationals‘ “Time.” According to bassist Kelsey Gonzalez, the Pittsburgh rapper initially wanted to change his verse after going through a breakup with Ariana Grande.
In an interview with Pilerats, Gonzalez remembered Mac’s work on the collaboration, which came together through their mutual collaborator Anderson .Paak:
Anderson [.Paak] gave it to Mac, and Mac absolutely murdered it. Yeah, it was so great, the way it came about. I remember getting a phone call from Mac just before he passed, and he was like, he had just broken up with [Ariana]… Man, the way he said it was so gangster, man! He was like, ‘Bro, some things in my life have happened and things changed, so maybe I want to like change a couple of lines in my verse, if that’s cool?’
Although Gonzalez gave the go-ahead, Miller ultimately left his verse alone.
“I was like, ‘Nah dude, you’re good, just send it, it’s pending, whatever, you’re good, I don’t care, do what you wanna do, you’re the artist!‘ Gonzalez remembered. "Maybe the next day he texts me, he’s like ‘Bro you know, it’s all good, I love it the way it is.’ I think he was scared of sounded like he was simping, you know, like begging for love… and really, the song is a timepiece, so beautiful the way it is. That was his place at that time in his life. It was a cool thing to be a part of.”
On “Time,” Mac highlights his emotional growth:
Sleep all day, maybe miss your calls
Like I been missing you
Still, I continue, tied up and tripping up
I’m making the wrong decisions and you sick of it all
But don’t leave me, don’t leave me
Because it feel too good to be easy (Yeah)
It’s been a while, and I’m even different now
Shit, I’ll probably make it better when you see me
Miller and Grande broke up in May 2018 after dating for nearly two years, but they still remained close. The pop singer has spoken openly about how recording thank u, next helped her process his death.
Free Nationals just released their self-titled debut album, which includes appearances from Daniel Caesar, Westside Gunn, Conway the Machine, JID, and Kali Uchis, who also guests on “Time.”
Read the full Free Nationals Pilerats interview here, and catch up on all the lyrics to “Time” on Genius now.
