“Balloonerism” is the second album released by rapper Mac Miller following his death in September 2018. This posthumous album is a catalogue of unreleased music and art, featuring commissioned artwork by artist Alim Smith. Miller’s impact on the music industry still remains prevalent today, he was a pioneer of “frat-rap,” a hip-hop subgenre characterized by straightforward rhyming styles and high energy songs containing lyrics about drug use and partying—the frat life.
Hailing from Pittsburgh, Mac Miller broke into the rap scene with his 2011 mixtape K.I.D.S. With vulnerable lyrics about his struggles with depression and drug addiction, combined with a jazz inspired production style Miller moved to the forefront of the hip hop scene, making his way into Billboard’s Hot 100 and their top 50 hottest songs.
Miller was open about his struggles with substance abuse throughout his entire career. Often rapping about his attempts to get sober and his addiction to various substances. After a relapse, Miller died of an accidental drug overdose. His estate began to release posthumous music in 2019, releasing Circles in January 2020, the first album since his overdose. “Balloonerism”, the latest album, was initially recorded in 2014 and features guest appearances from SZA and Delusional Thomas, along with artist Thundercat providing the bass for many of the tracks.
The ratings of the songs on “Balloonerism” is based on a combination of factors—lyricism, production, and overall enjoyability. Mac Miller’s albums mix soul, hip-hop, and jazz into tracks that make you wanna just chill out and enjoy the melancholic lyrics.
Track Ratings
1: “Tambourine Dream” (No rating, it’s an intro)
2: “DJ’s Chord Organ” ft. SZA 7/10
3: “Do You Have a Destination?” 8/10
4: “5 Dollar Pony Rides” 7/10
5: “Friendly Hallucinations” 9/10
6: “Mrs. Deborah Downer” 7/10
7: “Stoned” 10/10
8: “Shangri-La” 10/10
9: “Funny Papers” 7/10
10: “Excelsior” 9/10
11: “Transformations” 6/10
12: “Manakins” 10/10
13: “Rick’s Piano” 9/10
14: “Tomorrow Will Never Know” 9/10
Overall rating: 8.5/10
Listening to “Balloonerism” is a bittersweet experience, despite being recorded in 2014 it feels like it was almost predicting what was going to happen in relation to Miller’s future. The flow of the album is great as the songs progressively get to darker subject manners and the lyrics delve more into Miller’s struggle with addiction. Despite the great production and tear jerking lyricism this almost hour long album felt like a chore to get through by the end, with the last song lasting almost 12 minutes.
