I preface this by saying I haven't listened to Mac Miller in a long time.
But I don't remember him being one of those white rappers that goes out of their way trying to be comedic or be super edgy. A lot of white rappers try and copy Eminem by going with one of those.

Example of trying to be funny

Example of trying to be edgy (nigga even sounds like Em)

How did Mac Miller become so respected

But also why do you think people rather go with all these gimmicks, when he proved you don't have to?

He was a great guy and very cool!

Hate to be that guy...

But he died.

He definitely had respect in the game but the praise he’s gotten since his death is something else

He was a genuine dude who stayed humble for the most part.

Em.was an aloof arrogant prick at his peak.

He had respect before he died starting more heavily with WMWTSO

Wasn’t he Jewish?

cus he actually cared about the culture. he f***ed with other artists early in their career off the strength of the music and not just popularity (Vince, JID, Sza, etc)

Trust me I know lol. It was nothing like what it became tho. Watching Movies was like “wow this dude isn’t that garbage anymore” type respect it wasn’t “this guy is the most natural and flyest white rapper ever and such a fantastic genuine person”. Everyone gets more love when they’re gone

He was a normal person with a dream and good songs. Also he reached a complete goal by dating Ariana Grande.

It’s cause a lot of people didn’t appreciate his artistic growth when he was here. He had a very unique style and since of humor in his raps that made him stand out. I remember being so hyped for WMWTSO and critics being hyped for it as well. It’s sad but I think people are trying to give him the appreciation he would’ve never gotten if he was still alive.

Yeah I feel you. I guess it’s a natural thing but it just never really sits right with me when I see people saying s*** they never would’ve said while he was here

Never listened to a full body of work from Mac, but people always spoke highly of him while he was alive from what I remember. His untimely death just elevates it.

he was all about the art

Mac just died bro. His clones are like 15 right now

Mac Miller was a true music lover dude, he made so many different styles

I think after blue slide park got bad reception he was trying to go deeper, and he continued exploring new avenues until he passed.

And it shows. Man has a diverse catalogue and constant growth

Mac doesn't have a singular style that's easy to emulate (that's usually a good thing). Unlike all the crappy Eminem knock offs on Youtube

I didn’t keep up with him like that but I will say he never got the stigma a lot of white rappers did of being Em clones or being meme rappers

And it seemed a lot of the hip hop community respected him similar to Em

It’s unfair to his legacy imo. He was oddball rap done right,he could spit and he tried his best to rap in ways you would never think of. He didn’t reach his peak but I think his personal problems kept him from making his absolute best music.(even though he has great music now)

Any dude that can playfully joke about his real life problems in his raps has real problems.

Eeehhh he got a lot of love even before death. The praise is now elevated cause of the death