As expertly covered by Emcee’s own Cynthia Sanchez, the Mac Miller and Ariana Grande courtship came to a close some time ago. Though Ariana’s reaction was to fall into Pete Davidson, Mac Miller’s reaction was to fall back to the music. Following a brief stint in rehab, Mac Miller came back to life and got back to himself by jumping in the studio. Amidst all hubbub of G.O.O.D. Music releases and A$ap Rocky’s Testing, Mac Miller dropped 3 tracks. The most recent releases since 2016’s The Divine Feminine.
“Small Worlds” deals with the downside of success and the loneliness that inevitably follows. Though it may appear heavy burden, eventually one can get their life back on track while living life to the fullest. One day at a time. As Mac Miller has. Musically, the sound and lyrics have a day and night appeal; a vibe-y feel good sound versus carefully placed delivery with the content to back it up. There are allusions to his failed relationship but at the end of the day, he’s just trying to make it and do better.
“Buttons” focuses on maintaining a normal day to day despite having a bad streak of luck. An excellent piano melody sets the tone to a track where Miller largely deals with his DUI and his failed relationship with more detail. The beauty of the fall is in the rise as Miller is now back to producing and dropping music for his fans.
“Programs” is the kind of track that confirms Miller is back to his old self as it’s a familiar Mac Miller sound with signature sound effects and adlibs. Overall, this catalogues the ups and downs of life. However, Mac Miller is restored and back in the lab cooking up fresh tunes.
We, the people, love underdog stories about as much as we love redemption tales. Mac Miller is a mixture of both. If the music is any indication what to expect, Miller seems to have changed for better and the benefit is ours. Whether these tracks are part of a whole or lead to something more remains to be seen. For now, we got new music and that’s better than nothing. Welcome back, Mac Miller.
