‘CIRCLES’: MAC MILLER’S FAREWELL GIFT

Two years after his death by overdose in 2018, acclaimed artist Mac Miller’s unreleased last project, “Circles,” has finally been released.

To say the anticipation was great is quite the understatement. It has been understood for some time now that Circles would, at last, continue Miller’s project-spanning vision that began with the release of “Swimming,” his fifth studio album, which debuted just over a month before his untimely passing – the idea being a multiple-part musical experience: “Swimming in Circles.”

This reality of an artist never being able to fully appreciate their complete work only serves to make the truth even more tragic and more important for the 26-year old rapper/singer’s admirers.

Knowing that Circles has finally come presents itself with quite a bittersweet understanding, for a couple of reasons.

For one, apparently Circles was not meant to be the concluding chapter to this saga. It was meant to be a middle act in a proposed trilogy of records, the ending to that trilogy being one we will never truly get to hear.

It is also impactful to listen to Circles and slowly come to accept that Miller’s voice has officially reached its limit, purely substance-wise.

All that we have of his work (unreleased or otherwise) is what there will ever be. There will never be new verses of impressive wordplay or honest introspection. No new, creative wellsprings from behind an iconic smile.

Circles is a sad play-through for these reasons and for others more straightforward. It contains some of the more painfully direct and solemn lyrics Miller has spoken behind a microphone, and has a production style often melancholy sonically.

Having the hindsight of knowing just how his story ends makes many moments on the album that much more heartbreaking. It is uncanny and so unfortunate how well he often seems to foreshadow his own passing and its circumstance.

“Some people say they want to live forever, that’s way too long, I’ll just get through today,” he writes on the second track, “Complicated.”

It should be acknowledged that while Circles is indeed one of the more touching works in Miller’s discography, it is also arguably the least directly raunchy and unhinged.

It brings into question just how much of his true intent was realized, after all. Could he have intended this? Certainly. Likely, even. But one must remember that ultimately his recordings were compiled by colleagues and loved ones, not Miller himself, and they theoretically may have had a different view of what they wanted his legacy to be.

Something to consider, at least.

It also should be said that Circles feel noticeably less diverse in song structure and style from track to track than what has been present in Miller’s other albums. Perhaps this was a sacrifice made to better emphasize its emotional cohesion.

Regardless, Circles has done its creator incredible justice, indeed. Though a departure from his usual rap-focused vocal delivery, it doesn’t make this delivery any less impactful and it doesn’t make it feel any less legitimate, either.

Circles is a Mac Miller artwork, through-and-through. Something that offers  more to love for a devotee, yet also a delightful and welcome surprise, is a concept so hard to come by, but it is here. And how lucky are we indeed to feel him here, still, even after all this time.