![]() ![]() ![]() Miller was 22 when he released “Faces.” The mixtape, released for free online in 2014, is dense: 24 songs and over 85 minutes. As such, it served as the perfect send-off for Miller’s legacy - that was until “Faces” was re-released for streaming services. His first, and only posthumous album, “Circles,” is a benchmark for respectability - it’s a posthumous album that doesn’t exploit a dead artist’s unfinished music just for quick cash. His sheer emotional honesty was refreshing, and his music evolved with his maturity. His music often dealt with difficult subject matters, which is what was so appealing about Miller. His recreational use of drugs often came up in his songs. Tragically, just over a month after the album’s release date, Miller would die at the age of 26, victim to a drug overdose. Fresh in my mind is the excitement I had when he released what turned out to be his final album, “Swimming,” wondering about the potential he had for growth as a musician. His sound evolution was marked by collaborations with Flying Lotus, the DJ darlings of downtown L.A., and underground hip-hop stars like Action Bronson and Earl Sweatshirt.Mac Miller has always been one of my favorite artists. But Miller lapped his peers, like Asher Roth and Sam Adams, sidestepping his sometimes goofy early lyrics about partying and Eminem-style delivery in the first half of the decade as he transitioned into a different, more mature and experimental vibe with his 2013 LP Watching Movies with the Sound Off. Miller’s early work fit into the sound of backpack hip-hop that dominated the underground in the early 2010s, including a ballsy sample on his debut album, Blue Slide Park, of “Let Me Clear My Throat” - a song whose infamous trumpets played as the Ed Lover dance for years on Yo! MTV Raps. His star rose when he landed a reality show on MTV2 that tracked his ascent, Mac Miller and the Most Dope Family. He landed a record deal and released his first album while he was still a teenager. Miller started out making mixtapes at 15 years old. ![]()
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