Mac Miller
A long awaited album from late rapper Mac Miller appears to be on the way, according to a new trailer.
The teaser was aired at Tyler, the Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw festival in Los Angeles over the weekend, appearing before The Alchemist & Friends’ set on Saturday (Nov. 16).
The two-and-a-half minute trailer featured a series of animations and songs, finishing with a message that simply read “soon”. The image that accompanied this message was a painting of Miller by artist Alim Smith. Just weeks before Miller’s 2018 passing, Smith had posted an image in a similar style which the late artist commented on, writing “need this”.
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The project in question is Miller’s long-lost album Balloonerism, which had been recorded over a decade ago and was reportedly planned for release ahead of his 2014 mixtape, Faces.
While some debate has taken place in regard to whether the recorded songs were ever compiled and sequenced for intended release, or if the project ever actively got past its development phase, many of the songs associated with the project have however leaked over the years.
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Two of those songs – including the SZA-featuring “The Song That Changed Everything”, and “5 Dollar Pony Rides” – accompanied the teaser trailer when it was aired on Saturday.
Miller passed away in September 2018 at the age of 26, leaving behind a legacy which included six studio albums, 12 mixtapes, numerous singles, and even more guest appearances on songs with other artists.
His final album, 2018’s Swimming, was released just a month prior to his passing. In 2020, Miller’s estate released the posthumous record Circles, which had reportedly been planned as a companion piece to Swimming. Both records received widespread critical acclaim, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 upon their respective releases.
In March 2023, Madlib confirmed he was in the process of finishing up an unreleased collaboration with Miller, while in March 2024, Miller’s song “The Quest” was released to streaming following its arrival on the Watching TV With the Sound Off 10-year anniversary vinyl the previous year.
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Madlib is one of the best producers in Hip-Hop and his deft touch behind the boards extends far beyond the genre most associate him with. The Oxnard, Calif. native joined his brother Talib Kweli on Shade 45’s Sway In The Morning, revealing that he’s got albums with the late Mac Miller, Planet Asia, and Erykah Badu in the tuck.
Madlib, who doesn’t do a ton of media appearances, spoke briefly on the aforementioned projects, and considering he has a history with the trio of artists, fans should expect more of that Beat Konducta magic.
“Right now, I’m finishing up the Mac Miller album, Planet Asia album, Erykah Badu album, different stuff,” Madlib said, with Sway Calloway following up to ask if the estate is in support of Madlib working on the Miller project, to which he confirmed they’ve given their blessing. Sway noted that Miller appears on Liberation 2, the joint project featuring the producer and Kweli.
Fans of Planet Asia are well aware of the track Madlib remixed titled “Definition Of Ill,” which stamped the Fresno, Calif. rapper as one of the best lyricists just ahead of the turn of the century in 1999. The Gold Chain Music honcho has remained busy over the past two decades with a number of high-quality projects and this upcoming body of work will add to that.
The Bad Kid also worked in the past with Badu on the albums New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) and New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh), released in 2008 and 2010 respectively.
Check out Talib Kweli and Madlib on Sway In The Morning below.
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Photo: Getty
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