Mac Miller is a rapper/producer from Pittsburgh, PA. He broke out back in 2010 with the release of his mixtape KIDS, and ever since has been one of the most popular rappers on the scene. His ever changing sound has led to some excellent projects, and some projects that aren't quite as great. Nonetheless, the 23 year old as compiled a very versatile discography.
Mac's second full-length album, Watching Movies with the Sound Off was released back in 2013, and while it was seen by many as a sign of maturity in his sound, I personally did not enjoy it as much as I had enjoyed his earlier work. He followed that up, however, with what is probably my favorite project in his discography Faces, a more laid back and unique, at times even comedic approach to rapping by the emcee. On his newest album, I wasn't sure what to expect. Would we get a continuation of the style seen on Faces, or would he continue to alter his sound on every project he releases, like he has done in the past?
On GO:OD AM we get a sound that hovers somewhere between his last two previously mentioned projects Watching Movies and Faces. While Mac certainly takes a similar approach to rapping that we see on Watching Movies, the instrumentals are much more reminiscent of those you'd find on his last project. I can't say that his lyrical approach on Watching Movies was bad, but I did personally find it much less entertaining than how he handled Faces, so coming into this album that was an immediate disappointment.
Perhaps my biggest problem with this album, and rap music in general at the moment, is the ridiculous 17 tracks and 70+ minute run time of the album. I know what you're thinking, why am I mad that Mac Miller provided more tracks to listen to, isn't that a good thing? It is, to an extent. But something that's happening time and time again in hip-hop, is that artists are adding additional tracks to the listing just for the sake of using tracks. Much like I mentioned on A$AP Rocky's latest project, so many of these tracks are throwaways that, if left out of the listing, would have probably led to a more positive listening experience. I think it goes without saying that the inclusion of two or three "bad" tracks, is going to really hurt someone's perception of an album.
As far as what Mac did well, is his experimentation production wise on this project. He continues to get away from producing his own tracks under his Larry Fisherman allias, as all the production is done by other producers on GO:OD AM. We do get some very unique instrumentals on the project, like the one found on Time Flies, a track that also features cult legend rapper Lil B. Another instrumental worth mentioning is Jump, a very electronic based track that sounds much more like something you'd find on a house album than a hip-hop album. With that being said, Mac does a great job of making the most out of the track. ROS can also be added into the discussion of more interesting instrumentals, as it kicks off with Miller singing over a piano ballad before transitioning into a very sparse and laid back beat, where he even does his own backing vocals.
The features are another thing of note, as throughout the album only 5 of the tracks contain guest features. Half of which are singing contributions (done by The Weeknd and Little Dragon), meaning Mac Miller takes on the majority of the 70 minute project all by himself. The guest verses we do see come from Chicago based trap artist Chief Keef, who delivers a very typical trap verse on the track Cut The Check, which is a below average cut. Lil B's appearance on Times Flies sees him simply talking in the background of the track, nothing more. The one guest verse worth noting, is that of Ab-Soul, who appears on Two Matches, a sequal of sorts to the track Matches by the two rappers that appeared back on Watching Movies. While Matches ended up being one of my favorites on it's respective project, Two Matches is also one of my favorites on this album. We see Soul deliver a fantastic verse as per usual, and Mac Miller keeps up quite well, seeming a little bit more focused than he does throughout the rest of the project.
If Mac had have made the decision to leave a few of the subpar tracks out of the listing, cuts like Clubhouse, In The Bag, and Cut The Check, then I believe it would have made for a much more focused and well put together finished project. Instead, we get a project that's way too long, drags in parts, and at times seems as if it was just thrown together. That's not to take away from how many good songs there are on the album, because there are plenty, but unfortunately I can't only judge it from the good ones.
Rating: B-
Favorite Tracks: Brand Name, Two Matches, Perfect Circle, The Festival
Least Favorite Tracks: Clubhouse, In The Bag, God Speed (the second half of Perfect Circle,) Cut The Check
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