Circles, the posthumous album of Mac Miller, was released today. It will make some people sad. It will make some people happy. For me it is the latter.
His previous album, Swimming, was a long departure from "Easy Mac with the cheesy raps", the high school kid whose 2010 song, Nikes on My Feet, would have me listening to his music for the next decade. Swimming may have hardly been a rap album, but it was easily my favorite Mac album.
Now, Circles closes the loop. It ventures even further away from a traditional rap album, but I have always enjoyed all of Mac's music, even that of his jazzy alter ego, Larry Lovestein. I have listened to Circles only once through this morning, but I like it. I appreciate its existence, even after his. My favorite songs on my first listen were Everybody, That's On Me, and Surf, in the order that they appear. Still, I will likely listen to Circles mostly in its entirety as an album, just like I did with Swimming.
I hope you will give it a listen.
For those who do not know, Mac died at 26 from an accidental drug overdose, a combination of fentanyl, cocaine, and alcohol. It is a story that is far too common these days. Rest in Peace, Mac.
https://open.spotify.com/album/5sY6UIQ32GqwMLAfSNEaXb?si=RjZe-JsgQraGKvuG0No2OA
