In the winter of 1992, Mac Miller was born in Pittsburgh, PA. By the time he was 14, he released his first mixtape entitled “But My Mackin’ Ain’t Easy” under the alias Easy Mac, before deciding on his long-term stage name that we know him by today. Over his time in high school, he constantly worked on his craft. After his release of his mixtape, “The High Life,” which featured famous artist and fellow Pittsburgh native Wiz Khalifa, he caught the ear of Pittsburgh-based record label Rostrum Records. Then, only 17, he began working with Rostrum to release his third mixtape, “K.I.D.S.” He released this mixtape just months after graduating high school, and it would catapult the freshly graduated 18-year-old kid into the mainstream. Just three months later, Mac released his first studio album “Blue Slide Park” before his 19th birthday. “Blue Slide Park” ended 2011 ranked No. 4 on the Billboard 200 Chart, topping Drake’s “Take Care” and falling just short of top tier artists such as Adele and Justin Bieber.

Mac would go on to release seven more mixtapes, countless singles, and five more studio albums under both Rostrum Records and Warner Bros Entertainment. Before his death in September of 2018, it seemed things were really looking up for the struggling 26-year-old when he released his fifth studio album “Swimming,” which debuted at No. 3 on Billboard. Sadly, only a month after it’s release, Mac passed away due to an accidental drug overdose.

That brings us to now, over a year after his death, his family has decided to release a posthumous album entitled “Circles.” While many people question the morality of posthumous albums, “Circles” was meant to be released as a companion album alongside his last album “Swimming.” His vision was to make two companion albums with two complimentary sounds and styles, telling a story of self-acceptance (hence the names of the albums “Swimming” and “Circles” equals “swimming in circles.) Mac was extremely excited for the release of “Circles,” and for this reason, his family and producers decided to release the album following his death.

As far as the album goes, “Circles” further shows how versatile of an artist Mac Miller truly was. He certainly came a long way from his party hip-hop days with his earlier works, like “K.I.D.S.”, “I Love Life, Thank You”, and “Best Day Ever.” While the upbeat, fun-loving, and poppy sound of “K.I.D.S.” is what made me discover and fall in love with Mac’s music as a 9-year-old, as I grew up and continued to follow Mac’s releases religiously, I was able to appreciate each of his works for whatever they had to offer. As the years went by, his style and skill noticeably evolved and matured with him. His lyrics got deeper and more profound, while his “flow” became more skillful, the first time I noticed this change was on his 2013 mixtape entitled “Faces.” Additionally, he began dabbling in other genres of music, mainly funk, soul, jazz, and R&B. Mac loved all different kinds of music, and he intended to showcase this on his newer works, especially on “Circles.”
“Circles” is a masterpiece compiled mostly of calming songs with deep lyrics. While Mac is known as a rapper, and while there are glimpses of his rap background, including his funk/rap style on the seventh track “Woods,” most of the album consists of slow, gloomy, weary singing paired with smooth guitars, pianos, and synths.

Many of Mac’s albums and mixtapes had a deeper meaning behind them. Even “K.I.D.S.” and his less serious works followed a theme. Then, he was inspired by his life as a teenager, finding new fame, looking back on his youth. His tracks on both albums were meant to evoke feelings that represent youth and remind us of our teenage years, including fun, adventure, naivety, etc. While his newer works attacked more mature topics. The comparison is obvious if you listen to the two albums, for example on the song “The Spins” on the “K.I.D.S.” mixtape, Mac starts his first verse with the lines “I wanna get a mansion, a jacuzzi, a theatre to watch my movies- couple whips and lots of fancy things, the kids they call the Goonies- I see the future, crystal ball, mirror mirror hangin’ on the wall, who’s the flyest white boy of them all? Got your girlfriend screenin’ all the calls.” His cocky lyrics, youthfully exuberant sound and flow on the song, and his storytelling about his new fame and money is meant to represent the feelings and mindset associated with being young, punky teenager.

His last two albums prior to his death, when compared to lyrics on “The Spins” it’s almost like two completely different artists with how different the albums sound. With “Swimming” he wrote about his journey of self-acceptance, mainly through deep rap and “chill-hop” songs. With “Circles” Mac aimed to finalize that journey with the calming, seemingly enlightened voice of the album, and he definitely accomplished his goal. For example, on the song “Good News” Mac sings through a raspy, yet smooth, calm voice “…I wish that I could just get out my goddamn way, What is there to say? There ain’t a better time than today.” Before transitioning to the bridge where he finishes the thought with “Well maybe I’ll lay down for a little, Instead of always trying to figure everything out, and all I do is say sorry, half the time I don’t even know what I’m sayin’ it about.”

The peaceful sound and lyrics of the album is meant to symbolize his comfort with his current state, the state he was in before he died. Instead of driving himself insane trying to understand himself, he made the decision to “Lay down for a little” instead of constantly stressing. Additionally, on the second track “Complicated,” Mac uses a more upbeat intrumental, but pairs it with deeper lyrics to show his happiness with his self-acceptance. Maybe his life was still in the dumps, maybe he was still finding his way back to happiness, but it was this journey that inspired the two companion albums. While he was still on his journey to self acceptance, still figuring things out, he was at peace with the journey, he was at peace with “swimming in circles.”

Overall, “Circles” by Mac Miller tells a story of his own journey to self-acceptance, through slow, peaceful, calming songs with deep lyrics. So deep and peaceful, many times in my listening to the album, it felt as if Mac himself was talking to us directly from above. I enjoyed the album thoroughly, even though it doesn’t fit in with the music I typically listen to. Mac certainly accomplished his purpose for writing the album in the first place, when I listened to the album I could truly feel the journey Mac was on. Artistically, this has been the most impressive album Mac has come out with, and for these reasons, plus my preexisting bias, I’ve awarded Mac with a 5-star rating for his excellent work on “Circles.”