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Friday (Jan. 17) was a bittersweet day for Mac Miller fans as Balloonerism made its way to DSPs at midnight. The 14-song offering marked the late musician’s second posthumous project and, interestingly, one that many had anticipated years before his death in 2018.
The body of work opened with “Tambourine Dream,” which — much like the title hints — included nothing but 33 seconds of the tambourine. The LP then transitioned into “DJ’s Chord Organ,” a track largely led by SZA’s vocals. “I love when you smell like your car/ Smell like you’ve been drivin’ for days/ You ain’t even stop for gas, my n**ga,” she crooned.
Other standout cuts were “Do You Have A Destination?” and “5 Dollar Pony Rides,” the latter having been released as a pre-release single earlier in the month. Elsewhere, on the Thundercat-produced “Funny Papers,” Miller reflected, “Yeah, somebody died today, I/ I saw his picture in the funny papers/ Didn’t think anybody died on a Friday,” which, coincidentally, is the same day of the week he passed away.
Production-wise, much of Balloonerism was crafted by Miller himself, along with frequent collaborators Dylan Reynolds and Taylor Graves, and The Internet’s former keyboardist Kintaro. Take a listen to the album below.
Naturally, Miller’s fans took to social media to remember his legacy. “This Mac Miller album is sounding like he came back from the dead and recorded this last year. He was really that ahead of his time, wasn’t he?” someone wrote on Twitter. Another person said, “I love celebrating this, but godd**n I miss Mac Miller.”
SZA, who previously worked with the Philadelphia artist on 2014’s “Ur,” also penned a sweet message. “I love my friend. I miss my friend. Grateful he saw something in me before most and treated me [with] love from day one,” she tweeted. “Wish he could see how right [about] everything he truly was.”
In related news, the accompanying film for Balloonerism, directed by Samuel Jerome Mason, is available to stream via Amazon Prime Video.
