Mac Miller is a restless polymath, and eventually his talents are all going to work out. Just take a look over the transformation over the last few years. The earliest memories of his career are the works of a kid unquestionable in love with hip hop, but lacking the skills to justify his passion. His songs, while not without their charm, showed a real lack of ambition and his lyrics were as clunky as his production. Even so, Mac proved that concern for talent was virtually nonexistent in the minds of the underaged frat circuit, who managed to make his 2011 debut Blue Slide Park the first independently released hip hop album to top the Billboard charts in nearly two decades.
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So this is a day that I had been dreading. I am a long time Mac Miller hater, mainly because his music up to this point has been shit. Just the guys fashion sense pisses me off. I have a hard time getting past the monstrocity that was Blue Slide Park, but this time you know something is going to be different. Constant hate, from even your loyal fans, about that last album has to have gotten to him. We now journey on to WMWTSO.
Mac Miller is a young white male who loves to smoke weed. That was about the extent of his character up to this point. While he seems like a fun, nice guy, he also has a knack for making terrible music. He is also responsible for one of the best videos on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vu-1CkITrL0 feel free to check that out. All that said, by the time this album was announced his popularity had already largely come and gone, because kids lack the attention span it takes to get from album to album with any given artist. After I hated on Mac, you hate on Mac, Mac's grandmother hated on his music, what kind of changes does he have to make to his music? A guy as young(and high) as mac must not even know where to start in this situation, but the main focus should be making the album not suck. Just looking at this track list there are a few good guest spots, and this album already has more potential than Blue Slide Park ever did. I have listened to this album around 5 times so I'm fairly anxious to get my thoughts across, so I'll take this chance to do so. 1. The Star Room Right now I will go on record as saying the album could stop right no, and still be better than his debut. I am not a huge Mac listener, but this is a side of Mac that I have never seen before. It has a much darker vibe, and very personal meaningful lyrics. The lyrics on this track were actually fantastic, which I was not expecting at all taking Mac's past work into account. This is oddly insightful, but could just be a stroke of luck lyrically on Mac's part. 2. Avian The aforementioned stroke of luck was indeed the case. He attempts to be as introspective and meaningful and it comes out not meaning much at all. That being said this is not a horrible song, he has a nice flow and he beat is nice, but lyrically this song means little to nothing. 3. I'm Not Real (ft. Earl Sweatshirt) I am not at all a fan of the Odd Future group, but I have to say Earl is by far my favorite out of the rappers. He does not do much on the song, but he delivers the hook very nicely. Mac is on a planet of his own on this track talking complete and utter nonsense, but managing to make it sound cool enough to make this come off as an enjoyable listen. 4. S.D.S. This is a very bad song. There will be a lot of kids who think this is some profound masterpiece in which Mac uncovers some hidden truth, but in reality he is spewing verbal shit out of his mouth.The audio is pretty cool, the way his voice sounds like a vinyl sample, but I know I am smarter than Mac Miller, so there is no real substance to this song's lyrics. 5.Bird Call This song has fairly dark, semi-enjoyable lyrics, but the beat on this track is sick as hell. The drums are absolutely banging, which makes it sound awesome. This is just a fun little track that picks the project back up after that last song. 6. Matches (ft. Ab-Soul) This song is dope as hell. I am a big fan of what I have heard out of Soul, and that holds true here. Soul kills the first verse, and then Mac follows with no let off. The song is upbeat, fun, and an overall fantastic listen. The last minute of the song where the line, 18 years and older, is repeated will be stuck in your head all day, great track. 7. I Am Who I Am (Killin' Time) This song is a good listen, but gets lost in the mix. You won't dislike this song, but it won't be your favorite, nothing significant here. 8. Objects In The Mirror This was a bad attempt by Mac to do something that he rarely does,sing. It sounds really fucking bad. My question is, who the hell told him this was a good idea? Was one of his friends just fucking with him like, yo Mac try to sing this shit? All rappers seem to think at some point they can sing, but rarely can they. Bless Mac's little heart because he sure does try, but this is an experiment that should not be revisited, ever. 9. Red Dot Music (ft. Action Bronson) Action Bronson is a newcomer that I have grown very fond of. He does a fantastic job in this song, as does Mac from a lyrical standpoint. Both parts of the hook are very entertaining and this comes out to be a highlight track. Then something really weird happens. A guy gets on the mic, and makes fun of Mac Miller for seemingly no reason. It is funny, but really hold no relevance in the scheme of the album. 10. Geez (ft. Schoolboy Q) This is a fairly offensive song, and I love it. It hits you in the face with some good vulgar lyricism from both mcs, and Schoolboy really shines on this track, much like fellow Black Hippy member Ab-Soul did on his track. Very good showing, and a hook that you will be singing for days (hopefully not in front of your parents). 11. Watching Movies This is a fun song, but very similar to old Mac Miller. Very cocky fun rhyming, but nothing much there. I like this song to an extent, but it isn't something I would consider good rap. With a nice beat, it makes for a decent listen, and Mac's flow is very on point, but there is nothing here that will turn a non-believe. 12. Suplexes Inside of Complexes and Duplexes (ft. Jay Electronica) This is my favorite song on the album. An eerie beat is complimented by fantastic dark lyricism that I have never heard out of this guy. He honestly kills this track, and unfortunately the monotonous dark style will not be recognized by most of his fans for how good it really is. This is a side of Mac that i would love to see more often. Jay also comes in and delivers a fantastic verse. And shit, I'm a sucker for a wrestling reference. 13. REMember Who told Mac he could sing again? This shit is bad, but much better than his first attempt at singing. While this song is obviously meaningful to him, and the instrumental is hella nice, this kid can't fucking sing, at all. He is actually really horrible at it, so once again I'll advise, never ever, ever again (Chris Jericho voice). 14. Someone Like You This song is very annoying. Mac moans every word. It sounds like his mouth is numb and he can't move it enough to really talk. Other than the singing debacles this is really the only bad decision on the album, meaning it was a bad idea from the beginning. 15. Aquarium I like this song a lot, but I can't identify why. I do like the beat, but Mac brings his average flow, and the lyrics are average. Honestly, what Mac is saying just sounds cool. It doesn't mean much, but this is just a cool song, that I enjoy listening to. 16. Youforia Mac manages to end the album on a sour note as he decides to try his hand at singing again. He might be good singing back up to Rihanna whenever "Stay" comes on the radio, but that doesn't translate to any talent whatsoever. Andre 3000 can sing, and it still pissed his fans off. What makes Mac think that this is a good idea, repeatedly? Rating: 3/5 This is a very good album, but with a few too many sore spots to receive anything better. However, in comparison to Blue Slide Park, this is fucking awesome. Mac took his criticism, and fixed the things that were wrong. Maybe he will do the same with the singing bullshit. My main problem with this album is the lyrics. He thinks he is on some other world, profound shit, but I guess that's what weed can do to you. While this only sticks out on a few songs, I am sure I will be hearing from young hip-hop fans that songs like "S.D.S." are super lyrical. Often being lyrical does not even mean that there is any meaning to the song. New age rappers are confusing fans into thinking that something must be very deep and meaningful to be super lyrical, when in fact rappers like Action Bronson are lyrically superb, while not saying anything substantial in an entire al |