[인터뷰 번역] 2015년도의 맥 밀러가 얘기하는 음악, 그리고 자신의 10년 뒤 모습

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdO3SqZXDCg

래리 킹: 오늘 스페셜 게스트는 맥 밀러입니다. 2011년도에 [Blue Slide Park] 앨범을 발매하고 1995년도 이후 빌보드 200 차트 1위를 차지한 첫 독립 아티스트. 그 이후에도 [Watching Movies with the Sound Off], 그리고 [Faces]을 통해 많은 관심과 사랑을 받았는데요. 올해 9월에는 [GO:OD A.M.]이라는 앨범으로 돌아옵니다. 타이틀에 대해서 설명해 주세요.

Our special guest is Mac Miller. After launching onto the scene with 2011’s [Blue Slide Park], the first independently released album to reach number 1 on the Billboard 200 charts since 1995, Pittsburg’s Mac Miller has become one of music’s most dynamic and sought after talents. His follow-up albums and mixtapes including [Watching Movies with the Sound Off] and [Faces] garnered him massive critical acclaim as well as hundreds of hits on Youtube and beyond. Now Mac is back with a full length album [GO:OD A.M.] Thanks for coming, explain the title GO:OD A.M.

맥 밀러: 초대해 주셔서 감사합니다. 이번 앨범을 통해서 맑은 공기를 마시는듯한 느낌을 주고 싶었어요. 최근에 만든 음악들은 조금 어둡고 슬픈, 우울한 곡들이 많았잖아요. 이번 앨범은 그걸 벗어나고 싶었어요.

Thanks for having me. I think for me I wanted the album to feel like a breath of fresh air. A lot of the music I have done recently was a little darker and sad, depressing if you will. I wanted this album to be a departure from that.

래리 킹: 좀 신나는 곡들인가요?

So is it like uplifting songs?

맥 밀러: 그런 곡들도 있는데 신난다고 하기보다는 조금 더 자신 있는, 긍정적인 곡들이에요.

Some of them. I wouldn’t use the term uplifting, maybe just more confident and positive. 

래리 킹: 레이블과 계약한 후 첫 행보인데 그거에 대해서 더 얘기해 주세요. 독립적인 아티스트이셨잖아요.

It’s your first with a major label. Tell me how that came about. Sure an independent guy.

 

 

맥 밀러: 네, 지금도 그 독립성을 그대로 지키고 있다고 믿고 싶어요. 혼자서 여기까지 온 것만으로도 운이 좋았지만 이젠 회사에 들어갈 타이밍이었던 거 같아요. 계약을 안 했다면 지금 여기 있었을까 싶어요.

Yea, I’d like to think I kept all of my independence. I’m blessed to have a built a foundation on my own but I think it was just time. I don’t know if I’d be sitting here.

래리 킹: 계약 안 했어도 불렀을 거예요. 워너랑 계약한 거죠?

Oh, we would have had you on. So you signed with Warner, right?

맥 밀러: 네, 거기도 되게 독립적인 회사에요. 사무실에서 다들 티셔츠를 입고 있고 정장은 거의 못 봤던 거 같아요.

Yea, they’re a very independent thinking company. Everyone at the office wears t-shirts, I haven’t seen many suits.

래리 킹: 그렇다면 더 상업적인 음악을 할 계획인가요?

Does that mean you’re willing to do more commercial with your music?

맥 밀러: 그냥 제가 좋아하는 음악 계속 만들 거예요. 근데 그 곡들에 상업적인 매력이 생긴다면 그렇게 될 수도 있는 거죠. 그래도 지금 음악 시장이 전체적으로 예술을 하기 좋은 환경으로 변하고 있는 거 같아요. 히트 송 하나 만드는 거에 집중할 필요성이 없어졌죠.

I’m just going to keep on making music that I like to make, if it then has more commercial appeal, then maybe it will work that way. But music in general right now is kind of shadowing away with an emphasis on a single, and people are putting out art as a whole and it’s working, which is great. So you don’t have to focus on trying to get on a radio.

래리 킹: 그런가요? 그럼 유명세는 어떻게 얻나요?

You don’t? How do you get heard then?

맥 밀러: 인터넷으로요. 라디오도 아직 큰 시장이고 중요하긴 하지만, 저도 그랬듯이 어디든 따라다니는 큰 팬덤을 만드는 거에 더 집중하는 것 같아요. 

There’s the internet. And the radio is still a very real thing and it’s big, but now what I’ve done and so many people build a strong fan base that follow you everywhere. It’s less focused on just having radio single. 

래리 킹: 워너에서 홍보는 많이 해줘요? 

Does Warner promote you more?

맥 밀러: 네, 제대로 된 예산을 갖고 일하는 건 처음이라 좋아요. 재밌는 마케팅 아이디어들이 나오고 그게 정말 진행되는 걸 보니까 신기해요. 제가 광고판에도 떠요.

Yea, it’s the first time I had a real budget to work with which is nice. Actually being able to have cool marketing ideas and see them happen. Like I’m going to get on a billboard. 

래리 킹: 현재 음악 시장에서 아티스트가 작은 회사를 통해서, 아님 혼자서 성공하는 게 가능할까요?

Given the state of the industry, can an artist sustain success working with a small label or staying independent? 

맥 밀러: 가능할 것 같아요, 근데 성공이 뭔지는 사람마다 다르죠. 싱글을 천만 개 파는 게 성공이라고 보는 사람들도 있을 테고.

Yea, I think the system for what success is varies from person to person. There’s some people who want to have 10 million singles sold and that’s what they look at success as. 

래리 킹: 당신은 성공이 뭐라고 생각하세요? 

What do you look at?

맥 밀러: 저는 다른 사람들에게까지 닿을 수 있는 긍정적인 영향력을 갖는 게 성공이라고 생각해요. 오랜 시간 동안 들을 수 있는 음악, 오래가는 커리어. 긍정적인 영향을 끼칠 수 있는 사람이 되는 것.

For me, it’s being able to touch and affect people in a positive way. And have music that last for a long time, have a long career. Being able to be influential in a positive way.

래리 킹: 더 어두운 시기가 있었던 것 같아요, [Faces]가 나올 무렵 어떤 문제들이 있었나요?

There were darker tides for you, like your last tape [Faces]. Did you have a problem with life?

[Faces Mixtape]: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgUToB8PFao

 

맥 밀러: 오랫동안 마약 문제가 있었어요. 그때도 그랬던 것 같고, 심리적인 문제가 더 컸던 것 같아요. 우울했었죠.

I had a drug problem for a long time. I was definitely going through a drug problem and I think it was more of my state of mind, I was pretty depressed. 

래리 킹: 성공한 이후에도? 

Even when successful?

맥 밀러: 네, 그때부터 시작된 것 같아요.

Yea, I think it started. 

래리 킹: 성공하고 나서부터?

With success?

맥 밀러: 되게 웃긴 것 같아요, 왜냐면 사람들은 항상 “우울할 이유가 뭐 있어? 돈도 생겼는데”라고 하거든요. 근데 18살, 19살 때였으니까 내가 누군지, 나는 어떤 사람인지 찾아가려고 하는 시기였죠. 그때는 그냥 모든 게 다 안 좋게 보이고 더 심각해졌던 것 같아요. 명성을 얻는 게 되게 어려운 게 뭐냐면 다른 사람들이 저에 대해 어떤 말을 하는지 다 보여요. 그리고 그 말들과 현실을 나누는 그 선이 불투명해져요. 오랫동안 행복하지 않은 아침을 맞이했던 것 같아요.

It’s funny because people say “What do you have to be depressed about? You have money.” I was 18, 19 years old, and I think that moment in someone’s life where they’re trying to figure out who they are is just magnified and becomes a bigger thing. Fame is tricky because you read what’s said about you, and the lines start to blur. I just went through a long period when I didn’t wake up very happy. 

래리 킹: 유대인 래퍼가 나올 거라고는 상상을 못했었는데 이 문화에 어떻게 관심을 갖기 시작했어요?

Explain something to me. When someone says a rapper is coming through the door, I didn’t expect to see a white Jewish kid. How did you get into this culture?

맥 밀러: 그냥 항상 좋아했던 거 같아요. 어렸을 때 피츠버그 도시 쪽에서 자랐는데 매번 프리스타일 대회도 있었고 그냥 계속 관심 있었어요. 그게 이상하다고 생각하지도 않았고요.

It’s just something I love to do. I remember being younger, I grew up in Pittsburgh and there were always freestyle competitions and it’s just something I loved to do. And I didn’t see it as weird.

래리 킹: 부모님은 어떤 반응이셨어요?

What did your parents think?

맥 밀러: 제가 창의적인 일을 하는 거에 대해 항상 지지해 주셨어요. 저는 6살 때부터 음악을 좋아했으니까요. 어머니는 사진작가이시고 아버지는 건축가이신데, 두 분 다 제가 학교 과정만 마친다면 늘 지지해 주겠다고 하셨죠.

They are very supportive of me being creative. I was always in music since I was 6, my mom’s a photographer and my dad’s an architect, so as long as I finish school, they were really supportive.

래리 킹: 형제는 있어요?

Brothers or sisters? 

맥 밀러: 형이 한 명 있어요. 형도 항상 저를 지지해 줬고, 형은 시각예술을 하는데 제 앨범 커버나 패키지 디자인을 다 맡아서 해줘요.

I have a brother, he was very supportive. My brother actually does all my visual art, he’s an incredible artist. He does all my design of the covers and put together the packaging. 

 

래리 킹: 언제 유명해지셨어요? 

How did Mac Miller get known? 

맥 밀러: 인터넷에 음악이 너무 넘쳐나기 전에 잠깐 그 시기가 있었는데 그걸 잘 활용했던 거 같아요. 유튜브에 음악 영상들을 올리고 “Donald Trump”라는 곡을 올렸었는데 그게 제 첫 플래티넘 음반이 됐죠. 도널드 트럼프를 만나 뵌 적은 없지만 인터뷰에서 트럼프를 지지하냐는 질문에 아니라고 답해서 문제가 조금 있었죠.

There was a moment in time right before the internet became oversaturated with music, so I kind of hit that pocket. I was putting together high-quality videos on Youtube and I released a song called “Donald Trump.” I never met him, we’ve had some issues, which I think is so cool. That song was my first platinum song so I did an interview where someone asked me if I support Donald Trump, and I didn’t agree with anything he said. 

 

[Donald Trump]:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74TFS8r_SMI 

래리 킹: 그 유명세에는 어떻게 적응하셨어요? 

How did you adjust to fame? Was it tough?

맥 밀러: 다 시기가 있는 거 같아요. 처음에는 누가 “맥 밀러 아니에요?”라고 물어보는 게 너무 좋고 신났는데, 또 갑자기 그걸 다 부정하면서 집 밖을 안 나가던 때도 있었어요. 그게 어두운 시기였죠. 근데 다들 시간이 지날수록 익숙해지는 것 같아요.

You go through a period. At first, it’s really exciting when somebody says “aren’t you Mac Miller?” And then I went through a period where I rejected it and stayed inside. That was the dark days. But then you just own it. 

래리 킹: 가명도 되게 많이 쓰는 것 같은데 그런 게 왜 필요하죠? 

What about these aliases? One of them is Larry Fisherman and another one is Delusional Thomas. Why do you need aliases? 

맥 밀러: 그냥 다른 캐릭터들을 만들고 그걸 키워내는 게 재밌어요. Delusional Thomas라는 사람은 사이코패스 살인자이고, Larry Fisherman은 하루 종일 햇빛 없는 지하실에서 일하는 사람이에요.

I like to create characters and flash them out all the way. Delusional Thomas is a psychopathic murderer, and Larry Fisherman represents the studio rat in me, the person who never sees the light of the day and sits at work. 

If You Only Knew <Q&A 코너> 

래리 킹: 살면서 받은 최고의 조언은?

Best piece of advice you ever got?

맥 밀러: 고리 모양을 만들고, 넣고, 당겨. 신발 묶는 방법이죠. 

Loop, swoop, and pull. How to tie your shoes. 

래리 킹: 쉬는 날에 하고 싶은 건?

Favorite thing to do on a day off?

맥 밀러: 산책을 하면서 인생에 대해 더 깊게 생각하는 거요. 

Take a nice walk and contemplate the deeper things in life. 

래리 킹: 제일 의미 있는 타투는?

Can you talk about your tattoos and the one that has the most meaning for you?

맥 밀러: 제 등에 돌아가신 할아버지 타투랑 손가락에 제 가족과 크루가 새겨져있어요.

I have one on my back of my grandpa who passed away, and on my fingers, which is my crew/family. 

 

래리 킹: 새로운 앨범에서 제일 좋아하는 곡은?

What’s your favorite song on the new album? 

맥 밀러: “Break the Law” 아님 “Doors.” 

“Break the Law” or “Doors.”

[Break the Law]:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ49uwe-zv8 

[Doors]: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE_KOXiSbI8

 

래리 킹: 동성애자 래퍼가 크게 성공할 수 있을까요?

Do you think an openly gay rap or hip hop star could make it big? 

맥 밀러: 네, 예술이 중요한 거니까요. 동성애자이든, 양성애자이든, 무슨 인종이든 상관없이.

Yea, I think it’s about the art. If you’re gay, straight, whatever color you are. 

래리 킹: 가사는 자주 쓰시나요?

Do you write a lot? All the time?

맥 밀러: 네, 항상 핸드폰에 적거나 머리에 기억해두죠. 차에서도 많이 쓰는 것 같아요. 원래 집안에 스튜디오가 있었는데 거기 안보다는 가는 길에 아이디어가 많이 떠올라서 없앴어요.

Yea, not all the time. I write it on my phone a lot or keep it up all here. A lot of times in the car. I used to have a studio at my house but most of my best ideas come on my way there. 

래리 킹: 당신은 10년 후에 어떤 모습일까요?

Where do you see yourself in 10 years, Mac?

맥 밀러: 엔터테인먼트 시장에서 다양한 일을 하고 있으면 좋겠네요. 아이도 있겠죠. 

Hopefully doing a lot of different things in entertainment. Maybe have a kid. 

래리 킹: 지금보다 훨씬 더 성공할 것 같아요. 

You’re going to be bigger than you are now. Much bigger.

맥 밀러: 그러길 바라요.

That’s what I hope. 

래리 킹: 분명 그럴 거예요. 

I predict it for you. 

 

Mac Miller (1992-2018)

Rest in peace. 

 

 

 

-- 

[Interview by]: Larry King

[Source]: Larry King Now

[Translation by]: HIPHOPPLAYA 이승연 (lsy@hiphopplaya.com)