Rapper and producer 88-Keys has shared a previously unreleased collaboration between him and the late Mac Miller called “That’s Life,” featuring Sia. According to an interview with 88-Keys on DJ Booth, Keys and Mac recorded the song in February 2015 in the midst of sessions for Miller’s album GO:OD AM. The song came about when 88-Keys wanted to give Mac a College Dropout-era Kanye West beat (Keys worked with Kanye during the time College Dropout was released).
“The song was inspired by a 90-minute conversation he and I had about,” Keys told DJ Booth. “From what I recall, he was going through some relationship issues with his then-long-term girlfriend. I felt bad, but I was surprised he was confiding in me.” Keys added:
“The very first beat I pulled up was a beat that I had called ‘Benji The Dog,’ and I played it for him, and he just kinda lost it. He just went crazy. He started writing. Once he started recording, it was ‘Oh, he definitely felt the conversation that we just had.’ That was very apparent to me. I was like, ‘Wow, this song’s kinda sick.'”
The track originally leaked on the internet last month under the title “Benji The Dog,” but has now been giving a proper release on streaming. “That’s Life” follows the first official posthumous song featuring Miller, Free Nationals’ “Time,” which debuted last week. Listen to “That’s Life” below.
