When Mac Miller died of an accidental drug overdose in September 2018, he was just coming into the prime of his life. While he was only 26, he had already been putting out music for the past decade and had 5 studio albums under his belt. His initial music was very party-centric, but as he got older he transitioned to more honest introspection. His last two albums – The Divine Feminine and Swimming – were his most expressively raw works to date with Swimming being his first real attempt at coming to terms with his depression.
Circles is the companion album to Miller’s last work and the first posthumous release. Jon Brion, who worked with him on Swimming, completed production on Circles. By necessity, the album remains a work-in-progress. Raw and without features, it’s thoroughly Mac. While the music feels light, the lyrics reflect the heaviness of his mental state. In ‘Good News’ – the only single dropped prior to the album release – he asks himself, “why I gotta build something beautiful just to go set it on fire?” On ‘Hand Me Downs’ – which features a dreamy chorus courtesy of Baro Sura – he professes, “ever since I can remember I’ve been keeping it together but I’m feeling strange.”
Sometimes I get lonely
Not when I’m alone
But it’s more when I’m standin’ in crowds
That I’m feelin’ the most on my own
-‘Surf’
While he got his start rapping and came to be acknowledged as one of the best rappers in the game (including by the likes of Jay Z), Mac slowly transitioned over time to eventually become more of a singer. Much like with Swimming, Miller is less of a rapper than a singer-songwriter on Circles. In fact, there really is only one song that truly could be considered rap (‘Hands’). Given his verbal dexterity, singing was a conscious choice to show the world another side of him, a softer one – the vulnerable underbelly of a man struggling with mental health.
That there’s a whole lot more for me waitin’
I know maybe I’m too late, I could make it there some other time
Then I’ll finally discover
That it ain’t that bad, ain’t so bad
-‘Good News’
Yet optimism can be found throughout the entirety of the album. In the title track ‘Circles,’ he says: “You’re feeling sorry, I’m feeling fine/ Don’t you put any more stress on yourself, it’s one day at a time.” On ‘Blue World’ which was made with the assistance of Disclosure, he goes:“Fuck the bullshit, I’m here to make it all better/ With a little music for you.” Mac was bridging the divide between depression and hope, proving that the two can co-exist within each other.
Everybody’s gotta live
And everybody’s gonna die
Everybody just wanna have a good, good time
I think you know the reason why
-‘Everybody’
Mac would’ve turned 28 this January. When an artist dies too soon, the world is left wondering what could have been. With Mac, who was displaying profound growth and development as an artist, it is especially difficult to wrap one’s head around such a tragic loss. Over a year since his passing, there is one thing that we know to be true: “It’s a blue world without you,” Mac.
Words by Grace Thomas
