Fans can’t stop swimming in Mac Miller posthumous releases.
Since the rapper died, in 2018, his label released “Circles” in 2020, followed by a few singles he featured on, like “I Believed It” by Dvsn, “Time” by Free Nationals and “That’s Life” by 88-Keys.
Now, the rapper’s 2014 mixtape “Faces” will be available on streaming services and vinyl for the first time.
The album, which was first released on Mother’s Day seven years ago, will be available Friday for die-hard Miller fans who just can’t get enough.
For people who have never heard “Faces” before, Twitter offered up some advice from veteran listeners.
“Don’t jump to any song first,” tweeted @HipHopNumbers. “If you’ve never heard it before, start at ‘Inside Outside,’ close your blinds, turn your phone to silent and join Mac inside his own world.”
Dubbed “one of the best mixtapes of all time” by his fans, “Faces” is garnering new attention online, trending on Twitter as people eagerly await its drop.
“In my opinion, Mac’s best project,” tweeted one fan.
“Such an amazing project,” wrote another, “will cry tonight.”
A single from the mixtape titled “Color and Shapes” was released earlier this year with an accompanying video directed by Sam Mason.
The video features a dog traveling through space and other dimensions. The dog was inspired by Miller’s own pet Ralph, and his family sent Mason items of nostalgia that inspired his vision.
The song begins with a retro-sounding voiceover saying, “Have I answered the question, ‘Who am I?’ Well, I confront it all the time,” along with a dreamy synth and a psychedelic vibe, as if Miller is drifting, out of body, through the song.
In a statement released by Mason about the video, he said, “The track felt very visual to me — like it had its own world … It’s meant to be a video about childhood — growing up as an artist and the highs and lows of that experience.”
Mason went on to say the song is about the “perilous” journey of an artist.
Miller, a Pittsburgh native, rose to fame when he was just a teenager with frat rap songs — the kind you’d hear in a grimy basement with red solo cups — and by age 20, he had a platinum single and topped Billboard charts.
Eventually he graduated from carefree, young rap styles featured on his album “K.I.D.S.” to develop his own voice and style.
“Watching Movies With the Sound Off” and “GO:OD AM” delivered more jazzy, rhythmic beats that came to fruition on his album “The Divine Feminine” in 2016, when he was dating pop star Ariana Grande.
His last album, “Swimming,” came out just a month before Miller died, on Sept. 7, 2018, of an accidental overdose of fentanyl, cocaine and alcohol. He was just 26 years old. His label later released “Circles” in 2020, which the rapper was working on prior to his passing.
Miller was no stranger to dark lyrics. In fact, he embraced them. Specifically, on “Faces” he raps, “Don’t tell my mama I got a drug problem.”
Fans noted that the first song on the mixtape, “Inside Outside,” starts with the line, “I should have died already,” an eerie setting to a posthumous release.