Mac Miller, the well loved music artist, had his second posthumous album released, titled Balloonerism. The Pittsburgh artist passed away September 7, 2018. His first posthumous album, Circles, released January 17, 2020, and it was a huge success. Balloonerism was made by Miller sometime around 2014, when he was recording his mixtape Faces and his album, G0:0D AM. Although he never released Balloonerism while he was alive, Miller had the whole project complete with the full tracklist and album art. 

To me, this album sounds like a mix of his albums Swimming and Faces. It has that same sound of bass played by Thundercat on both of those albums which gives it a familiar sound. This album feels more deep, and should be played start to finish, rather than listening to certain songs off it, as it feels like a complete thought. He only features two artists on the whole album: SZA and Mac’s alter ego, Delusional Thomas. The instrumentals play an important and interesting role as they make the album sound hallucinogenic, which fits the theme perfectly. From the album, these are my top three favorite songs. 

1. “Ricks Piano”: This is my number one song on the album because to me, this is one of the deepest songs and the piano on it reminds me of his song “2009” from his other album, Swimming.
2. “Funny Papers”: I think everyone can agree that this is the best song on the album. His flow over the melodic beat combined with the topics he raps about make for the perfect track.
3. “Friendly Hallucinations”: This is one of the more upbeat songs on the album, and his ability to rap deep lyrics with the complex beats is unmatched. 

Overall, this was a beautiful album and such a blessing to get after he passed away. Listening to this album felt like a complete message, which isn’t typical for music nowadays. Fans continue to love and support Miller’s music, despite his death, and many, including me, were excited for the release of this project.

Mac Miller is one of the most influential artists in my life, so this album means a lot to me. I hope you all will give it listen.

Balloonerism gets a 7.7/10