Balloonerism Review

Why Mac Miller’s lost album is Hip-Hop’s greatest posthumous release yet

By Dylan Barbee

Courtesy of @Spotify

Release Date: Jan. 17, 2025

Following Mac Miller’s breakthrough record Watching Movies With The Sound Off, the Pittsburgh native recorded a series of dark experimental albums between 2013 and 2014. The critically acclaimed Faces was released on May 11th, 2014 on Soundcloud and finally on streaming services in 2021. However, Balloonerism never saw the light of day as it was locked away in Miller’s vault of unreleased music. 

This was until Mac Miller’s estate announced at the Camp Flog Gnaw music festival that Balloonerism would be released at the beginning of the year as the late rapper’s second posthumous album. 

Balloonerism’s 15 songs span just over an hour-long listen. The once-lost album gives a chilling glimpse into Miller’s experimentation with both his music and drug use serving as a harrowing listen considering the circumstances of his death in 2018. Nevertheless, Miller’s out-of-the-box thinking and sound on this 2013 project don’t sound outdated, even going against the norms of music today making Balloonerism the greatest hip-hop posthumous release yet. 

At the time of both Faces and Balloonerism’s recording, Mac Miller left Ralstrom Records and founded his own label Remember just before signing and releasing Faces under Warner Bros Records. This period in Mac Miller’s life was a gap of despair for the then 22-year-old artist which can be heard within both albums.  

Similarly to Faces, Balloonerism follows themes of Miller’s growing fixation on hard drugs, his childhood and being close to death. The soundscape that coexists with these heavy-hitting topics is consistently psychedelic and non-structured with occasional adlibs and vocals from artist SZA who was pretty underground at the time. This production style empowers Miller to be free-flowing by throwing wordplays and cadences within his verses while still making them sound cohesive through deep storytelling. 

“Mrs. Deborah Downer” may be one of my favorite songs lyrically on this project as Mac Miller philosophically speaks about the trajectory of a human life moving faster as we grow older. “Even pills turn to powder, baby,” Miller sings in the chorus of the song hinting at the fragility of life when comparing it to the lethality of certain drugs. 

Much of Miller’s lyricism on this project carries this dark tone almost as if you're plummeting into an abyss with the rapper. On “Excelsior,” Miller yearns for his childhood and the loss of his innocence rapping “Before the world tear apart imagination, Before there were rules, before there were limits, Your only enemies were brussel sprouts and spinach.” 

On “Do You Have A Destination” Mac Miller raps about the chaos of the world and how he uses drugs as an escape by trying to reach a point of death but failing. “Need to let the drugs go, Tryna find heaven, I get high but never come close,” Miller raps. 

However, Rick Rubin is also a common theme on this album, co-founder of Def Jam Records and known for being a figure of support for Mac Miller during this dark time after the rapper drunk dialed him once asking for help. “Shangri-La” is named after Rick Rubin’s recording studio in Malibu, California and “Rick’s Piano” also references the influential music mogul.

“Rick’s Piano” is the best song on this album as its existential tone over a heart-plucking piano loop serves as a tearjerker. Miller is in a battle with himself exclaiming “The best is yet to come,” if he continues moving forward with his career and life but has an itching curiosity as he also repeatedly asks “What does death feel like?” 

The song encapsulates Miller’s struggle at the time and the overall feeling of whether he wants to continue living or deepen his relationship with drugs to the point of death. “Stoned” would have to be runner-up as a catchy chorus illustrates how he and his significant other have the best memories together only when there are drugs in the picture. 

All of these dark themes are expanded upon over jazzy instrumentals as Mac Miller plays the organ with Thundercat on bass on the song “5 Dollar Pony Rides.” The instrumental outro on “Friendly Hallucinations,” is one of my favorite parts of the album as it exemplifies Miller’s skills on instruments and his pure passion for his craft. 

Ballonerism is unapologetically 2013-2014 Mac Miller and is a finished album that deserves to be listened to by his listeners. This is something other late rapper’s estates cannot acknowledge as they end up throwing together unreleased songs and calling it an album in hopes of a cash grab while telling the public it's to “honor” the life and work of the late artist. 

I commend the estate of Mac Miller as they have consistently made well thought out decisions about what music to release to the rapper’s fans after his passing. The release of Circles in 2020 followed by the release of two mixtapes, Faces and I Love Life, Thank You all felt like respectable releases that prioritized the legacy of Miller over keeping his name relevant in the music industry at the cost of tarnishing the artist’s success while living. 

Most musicians today love music but Mac Miller lived music. This is apparent from the jazzy organs that extend through the ending of “Friendly Hallucinations” to the witty wordplay on “Mrs. Deborah Downer”. Miller’s estate recognized this and appropriately paid tribute to the late artist's passion while preserving his legacy. 

Overall, Balloonerism is indicative of how Mac Miller was an artist ahead of his time as much of the music within the album’s 1-hour runtime is still impressive by today’s standards of hip-hop. Miller’s estate has released an album that all future estates should consider going forward, as Balloonerism stands against the test of time while also paying proper homage to the late great Mac Miller. 

Rating: 9/10