Young Thug says collaboration with Mac Miller was recorded the day before he died

Young Thug’s new album, Punk, boasts an impressive list of guest features, from J.Cole, Drake and Travis Scott. However, one collaboration stands out more than the others: the song “Day Before” featuring late rapper Mac Miller.

Young Thug, real name Jeffery Williams, said on The Breakfast Club that the two recorded the song together just one day before Miller died of a drug overdose in September 2018.

“I was with Mac the day before he died. He was at my studio,” Williams said. “We did the song… This s—’s so crazy, but it’s coincidental. He came to the studio, did a song with me. The next day he died. And the song that we did at the studio, the name of the song is ‘Day Before.'”

The ethereal, drum-less song driven by lute and bass is the final song on Williams’ album, his sophomore major label effort. Miller died Sept. 7, 2018 of an accidental overdose of fentanyl, cocaine and alcohol. The coroner called it a case of “mixed drug toxicity,” as reported by Rolling Stone.

Williams said he wondered in hindsight whether their collaboration was fated.

“I think deep on that because it’s like, is that a sign?” Williams said. “At some point you want to know. At some point it’s like, yo, have you ever wished that God could just really talk to you?”

Miller’s death came just over a month after the release of his album, Swimming, which received a Grammy nomination for Rap Album of the Year. Swimming, and its posthumously released follow-up, Circles are the latest subjects of the Spotify podcast Dissect, which breaks down the making of and meaning behind an album, one song at a time.

Previous seasons have focused on albums from Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, Beyoncé and Frank Ocean.

As for Williams, Punk is the Atlanta rap star’s follow-up to his 2019 studio debut album, So Much Fun, which featured collaborations with Future, Lil Baby and 21 Savage. The album peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 and has been certified platinum by the RIAA.

Williams’ collaboration with Drake and Future on “Way 2 Sexy” peaked at the top of the Billboard 100 charts this October and is still in the Top 10. He is also riding high off his smash hit with Chris Brown, “Go Crazy.” The breakout single from their 2020 collaborative mixtape, Slime & B, which was certified triple platinum earlier this month.

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