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Not quite a re-release, and not quite a true posthumous album, Balloonerism provides another great demonstration of what one of rap’s best lost talents could be.

Release date : January 17, 2025 | Warner Records | Website

There are not many artists in history who have been more productive than Mac Miller when they’re at their lowest. Balloonerism, an abandoned mixtape likely made a little before Mac’s masterpiece Faces in 2014, has been a project devoted Mac fans have known about and tried to hear on questionable Soundcloud pages with poor audio quality and wonky track listing’s for years. That era of Mac’s music just meant so much to so many people that the 24 tracks on Faces weren’t enough – especially with how much of a workhorse Mac was. Now, Balloonerism has finally been released with a full ready for streaming version, and it’s been everything fans could have possibly wanted and more.

Being made within the same tight window did not result in Balloonerism coming out as a collection of Faces leftovers and abandoned tracks if you had any concerns. The two projects take a completely different approach in detailing Mac’s drug addiction and personal struggles at the time, although you can see some similarities and themes that bled through both.

Faces embraced a level of intimacy that was uncomfortable at the time and has only grown more and more distressing as time has passed. Addiction, isolation, frequent overdoses, an at times suicidal mindset, and Mac’s focus on chronicling what he felt were his last days made Faces a unique and incredibly unpleasant look into its creator’s headspace that not many artists could have done. Mac was at his best being open and vulnerable, it’s part of what drew myself and many others to him even after he’s gone, so it’s no surprise that when faced with what he thought was the end he chose to pivot towards his strengths.

Mac had delved into more abstract lyrics on Watching Movies with the Sound Off and Macadelic, but I wouldn’t describe those moments as the highpoints of either project. He had a strong ear for melodies, hooks, and flows early in his career, but it would take him time to fully develop as a quality lyricist. He was only 21 or 22 during this time after all; it’d have been odd for him to be a fully developed artist at that age, and at 26 you wouldn’t have mistaken him for Kendrick Lamar, but he was also unrecognizable from the child he entered the game as.

It’s apparent in listening to Balloonerism that Mac’s efforts to be more abstract and experimental as a writer were a skill he was still growing, but one he would have mastered had he put more of his mind towards it. With that said, the immaturity is also where the few misses on the project stem from. “Excelsior” just doesn’t really work for me. I get trying to paint a picture of a group of kids for nostalgia but it’s too short of a song, and Mac does better on Faces’ “Funeral” where he actually directly talks about his own childhood briefly. Beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder on “Transformations”. It’s performed by Mac’s edgier persona Delusional Thomas, and while I don’t think it’s bad I can understand why the helium’d vocals and the shift in lyrical style could be very offputting.

These few weak moments aside, Mac’s growing skills as a writer also result in the project’s best moments. The closer “Tomorrow Will Never Know” is incredibly bleak, and its heavy usage of ringing phones and voicemail tones really starts to fill you with dread the longer the track runs, and boy does it run for a while. “Do You Have A Destination?” is the third track but it’s the first time you really hear Mac and he makes it abundantly clear how dower his mindset was while making Balloonerism.

Okay, I went to sleep famous and I woke up invisible
Rich as fuck and miserable
At least I did Kimmel and Arsenio, my mom got it on video
That’s the shit I live for, all this other shit is trivial (One, two, go)
Wi-wi-wi-will you bear witness to a miracle?
I don’t know, I’m not a kid no more, comin’ for those residuals (That money)
Be asleep in a couple minutes

Honestly, I don’t really know how to start off talking about “Funny Papers”. It evokes so many of the same feelings that “Good News” did when you first heard it, and it was one track on the project I had to stop and take a break during. One small but noticeable difference between Faces and Balloonerism is the former’s overwhelming hopelessness, and Balloonerism doesn’t have that for the most part. Except here. You can really feel it on‘I swear to God I never wanna sin again, but I fear that trouble’s on its way.’ Just a gutwrenching song. One of his best songs.

While nothing really beats the chance to spend time with Mac again, it is very nice to get to look back at what was going on with other friends in their early career moments. Thundercat appears and helps with bass and vocals here and there on well over half of Balloonerism, as he was a very active collaborator with Mac during this period of their lives. “DJ’s Chord Organ” looks like a ‘gimmie’ track now but providing an opportunity for a young SZA to shine and set the tone for the entire project was a very bold choice. With SZA’s stardom arriving after Mac’s death, her performance here and on “Friendly Hallucinations” (Mac also did some production work on SZA‘s early work) makes it fun to reflect on the pair’s friendship in its early stages.

Taking up the responsibility of producing his own music was one of the big turning points for Mac’s career, and his skills as a producer help Balloonerism feel more personal. The aforementioned “DJ’s Chord Organ” is my favorite beat from Mac here.

Made partly with Daniel Johnston’s chord organ (creative name right?), Mac’s lo-fi and warbly production is perfectly paced, joining with Thundercat’s ‘watch the world go round and round’ chant, peaking right before the bottom drops, and SZA’s gorgeous verse brings the song back to life. ‘Tell us the truth about it, cocaine is ruthless’. Even on a track where he says one word Mac’s creativity to describe his coke habit knew no bounds. The incredible spacey and haunted atmosphere continues on “Shangri-La”, where the simple drumwork provides an anchor for the quick distortions and effects Mac works into the beat and his vocals. “Manakins” begins with some tortured strings that would immediately send you into ‘bad trip’ territory, and yet when Mac brings them back around on verse two the added drums almost start to hype you up and out of your trance. Another of Mac’s best beats.

It’s not completely dreary and bleak throughout; although Balloonerism does lack most of Faces‘ wonderfully morbid gallows humor. If I told you “5 Dollar Pony Rides” was a lost cut from The Divine Feminine you’d believe me. Shit’s downright pleasant. Just gotta ignore the hopelessness of the situation Mac has placed himself in trying to please his emotionally distant partner. The guitars on “Stoned” are incredibly smooth and the warbly beat sets a perfect atmosphere for the drug fueled haze of the track. “Mrs. Deborah Downer” is the most Mac pulls out of the funk to drop some top-notch bars before sinking back in as the track closes and the drug binge starts back up.

Baby, let’s get stoned
Put on a record, can I play you one more song?
We can get stoned
I swear to God, Heaven feels just like home
Let’s go home (Ooh)

The nearly unanimous positive feedback and praise for Balloonerism and Mac’s creativity has been great to see considering that this would not have been the case had it dropped back then. Perception of Mac shifted somewhere in between GO:OD AM and The Divine Feminine and there were many that just did not take much of the drug addled stage that seriously at the time.

Judging by the reception to the superior Faces (Faces’ status as one of the best mixtapes ever and Mac’s best project was not something people thought initially. It’s been a slow build.) and the mostly ignored horrorcore-inspired Delusional Thomas tape, I don’t think Balloonerism would have shifted things much at the time. It’s a very strong project, and an incredible showcase for just how talented Mac was, showing just how capable he was even at his lowest, and yet I still don’t see it winning anyone over if Faces couldn’t.

It’s understandable. The quality of Mac’s music and his incredible reputation would eventually triumph over the bad first impression many had of him, and he had been beloved for years before his passing. While it crushes me that the world will never get to see all the good Mac would have done over the rest of his life, there is some gratification in seeing the adoration he has earned in recent years.

Even though I love to hear what a finished version of Balloonerism sounds like, and as much as I relish the opportunity to get to spend more time with Mac’s music, I do hope this is it. The estate of Mac Miller has, to this point, done an incredible job being respectful and handling things much better than is the norm. Releasing Circles, an album Mac was far down the road with, made sense. As did making some adjustments to Faces and I Love Life, Thank You (both finished and released projects) and getting them on streaming services. But personally, I don’t believe Mac ever wanted to release Balloonerism.

He left it for a reason, reused ideas for a reason (tracks like “San Francisco” potentially were from Balloonerism first), and unless there was a finalized version that no one knew about, I doubt he would have came back to this project on his own. I understand that many fans did want to get Balloonerism, but if I’m honest this is the line where any more after this starts becoming distasteful. There are big tracks like “He Who Ate All The Caviar” and “Erica’s House” from that era that never got used for anything, and Mac’s vault is deep enough they could release a new tape a year if they chose but is it what he’d have wanted? If Madlib has permission to finish his collaboration (there has been no update in nearly two years, and tragically Madlib recently lost much of his work in the recent California fires) then go with god, but other than that I simply don’t believe the world needs the Larry Fisherman Run on Sentences volumes, or the Delusional Thomas tape on streaming. If fans want to hear them they aren’t hard to find. It’s time for Mac to rest now.

RIP Mac Miller

One Comment

  • buzz says:

    Totally agree with your concluding paragraph. I have always been an admirer of Mac’s work but I don’t get the love this release is getting. They should leave it alone already.

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