Few rappers have charted a career like Mac Miller's. His 2011 debut Blue Slide Park turned the Pittsburgh native into an ambassador of college fraternity culture, a spokesperson lazily pushing digestible rap stereotypes (sample lyric: "Fuck a job, there ain't no one that I can call my boss / we just tryna work so we can blow up like a Molotov"). The album's slew of party rap clichés remarkably struck a chord, and became the first independently distributed album to reach #1 on the Billboard charts since Tha Dogg Pound's Dogg Food in 1995. It was an underdog success story of questionable merit.
Even more remarkably, in 2015 Miller has managed to rehabilitate his image with GO:OD AM. This process began with 2013's Watching Movies With the Sound Off, which saw the rapper elevate his lyrical acumen and dig deep into his production skills under the Larry Fisherman pseudonym. GO:OD AM continues this trend. It's both Miller's best release to date and his most consistent thematically, focusing on Miller's well-publicized struggle with addiction and his stabs at personal growth. His loopy, pop culture-heavy flow has become a pointed instrument, and throughout his new release Miller reflects incisively on his current status and relatable topics like making Mom proud. Moreover, he does so over production that's increasingly recognizable as his own brand.
If you ever hated Mac Miller, GO:OD AM makes a serious case for shelving that attitude and taking him seriously as an artist. Highlight songs include "Brand Name," "Two Matches" (feat. Ab-Soul), and "Perfect Circle / God Speed," and "100 Grandkids."
GO:OD AM is available now on Amazon (CD, MP3). You can also stream the full album above, via Spotify.
For Mac Miller's latest music, news, and tour dates, check out his Zumic artist page.
