R.I.P MAC
Mac Miller would have turned 28 this January. Unfortunately, he died on September 7, 2018 from an accidental drug overdose. He left an incredibly strong discography behind, along with his faithful fan base. Those who listened to him hurt when he passed away. Right before he died he released the album Swimming. The album portrays his pain before he died.
When an artist passes away, the record label usually releases an unfinished album to simply get money from the artist’s legacy to make up for a supposed loss of profit potential from the artist. A posthumous album is usually just a way to make money. However, Miller’s posthumous album, Circles, was released for fans and family.
Mac actually recorded Circles with Swimming. Circles is the sister album that was meant to be released anyway, but Mac didn’t live to see it. Almost two years after Mac recorded Circles, and after his death, his family released a letter that detailed Mac’s plans for the album. This is an album not for a label, but for Mac’s family.
Circles Is a beautiful album. The production is instrument based. It has a soft mood with soft vocals. Unlike other posthumous albums, Mac’s songs and verses seem complete and feature actual full songs. It is nice to hear Mac’s voice. There are no features on the album. Listeners get pure Mac.
Lyrically, there is a sense of death throughout. It seems as though Mac knew the album would be released after his passing. He sings and raps about death, loss, depression and his past. He is able to switch his cadence throughout each song. Each song is his.
We have experienced too many deaths in music recently. Artists who frequently sing and rap about depression, including XXXTENTACION, Juice Wrld and Lil peep end up fulfilling what they sing about. And Mac, who on Swimming sang about his addiction to the drugs that eventually killed him in the song self-care, became another artist on the list of drug-connected deaths. You have no need for “self-care” as Mac portrayed it. I encourage you to receive help if you feel that you are addicted to drugs. There is always hope.
“He is able to switch his cadence
throughout each song.
Each song is his.“
TJ Pittinger is a freshman studying theology.