Mac Miller Fund will support Pittsburgh music programs

Even in death, Mac Miller continues to inspire and support youth music programs in his native Pittsburgh.

A $100,000 grant established to honor the rapper’s legacy will go toward music programs for teens and young adults at the Homewood-Brushton YMCA, according to officials at the Pittsburgh Foundation.

The Mac Miller Fund was established at the foundation last year by the family of Miller, who died of an overdose in Los Angeles in September 2018.

“He cared very much about working to make the world a kinder place, and we will continue to do just that,” Miller’s family said in a statement.

The grant will be paid over three years to the YMCA Lighthouse Project and for apprenticeships at Tuff Sound, a YMCA program that trains young people in sound engineering. The Lighthouse Project is a youth program at the YMCA that encourages interest in the arts.

“These programs give young people a voice and empower them, through technical and transferable skills, for life after high school,” said James Brown, the director of creative youth development at the Homewood-Brushton YMCA.

He said the music industry often places emphasis on who is standing center stage, but it’s those who are behind the scenes that help make it happen.

“We’re helping to grow the music industry in Pittsburgh by making sure young people of color from neighborhoods like Homewood are involved,” Brown said.

Tuff Sound’s apprenticeship program provides year-long teaching and work in audio engineering, mixing and sound production, and apprentices work with local musicians and performers along the way.

The apprentice program had been stalled since May 2017 due to a lack of funding, according to the Pittsburgh Foundation. The grant will fund the program for three years – enough for about 30 apprentices to receive training.

Foundation officials said the Mac Miller Fund has accumulated nearly $1 million in donations and proceeds from a celebration of life concert held earlier this year.