Image Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records
By T- Millzz
By T- Millzz
Before I go into a review, I have had roughly 4 full listens to Mac Miller’s new album in the past three days. This album marks an interesting point in Mac’s career, as he is clearly venturing out and trying new things. Something that struck me as odd about this album first was the timing of it. His last album, GO:OD AM was released just over a year ago in September of 2015 and received praise from both fans and industry heads since its release.
Mac Miller is something special within the rap genre, as I can honestly say that with every project you can hear the growth of his music. I think about myself as a sixteen year old kid hearing K.I.D.S. for the first time back in 2010, and Mac Miller being only a year older than I am, I immediately said, “this is the kid that is going to represent rappers born in the early 1990’s. For the most part I was right, Mac Miller has been one of the few rappers who take his craft very serious, yet still has fun with it.
Mac Miller is something special within the rap genre, as I can honestly say that with every project you can hear the growth of his music. I think about myself as a sixteen year old kid hearing K.I.D.S. for the first time back in 2010, and Mac Miller being only a year older than I am, I immediately said, “this is the kid that is going to represent rappers born in the early 1990’s. For the most part I was right, Mac Miller has been one of the few rappers who take his craft very serious, yet still has fun with it.
Last year it was reported by many news sources that Mac had approximately five albums worth of material that he was hoping to release in the near future at that point. I can’t help but wonder if The Divine Feminine was one of those projects that Mac was toying with since his Watching Movies With The Sound Off days.
Anyway, let’s get into the review. The album starts off strong with a slow, balladesque style for a rapper to create titled “Congratulations,” featuring Bilal. “Girl, I’m so in love with you,” clearly says what this album is about. There is nothing Mac Miller has ever wanted to be clearer other than his addiction issues which were discussed on GO:OD AM. This album is built around either a specific woman in his life, whether it is his now confirmed girlfriend Ariana Grande or his ex-girlfriend. It could also be a relationship that he has actually seen blossom throughout his own life, quite possibly his parents’ marriage. Or it could be Mac just spilling out his desires for a “divine feminine,” which as we all know, doesn’t exist.
The album immediately switches up styles, as the second track is the albums lead single “Dang” featuring Anderson .Paak. I absolutely love this song. From the style of rhymes Mac kicks as well as Paak’s vocals on a funky beat with horns in the background and a unique tempo that makes you want to do an old school style dance to. “If it’s love than why the fuck it come with pain, I just think that’s some bullshit,” is the epitome of things us millennials love to create memes and blog posts about.
I have to say that the album is a strong point in Mac’s career, however the third track “Stay,” goes on for about a minute too long and falls into the same category as “God Is Fair, Sexy Nasty,” featuring Kendrick Lamar, of being a song that could lose some weight if played multiple times in a short period. I was really enjoying that song until the 3 minute mark and never really was feeling the Kendrick feature or whole song much like “Stay.”
With that said, “Skin,” Planet God Damn,” featuring Njomza and “Soulmate,” are three more songs that take Mac to a different place than what we have heard from him recently. I find it interesting because on these songs I got a sense of stylistic approaches of his time spent on Faces, and Watching Movies… Whether it was beat selection, slow flow, fast flow, I got a sense of familiarity in these songs.
Remember, that every song is supposed to either describe this “divine feminine,” that Mac is rapping about or supposed to be telling the listener how he particularly feels about her. This is furthermore made clear with “Cinderella,” featuring Ty Dolla $ign, who by the way has been killing almost every feature he has been on this past year and a half. Good grab by Mac on that on as Ty is not someone I was expecting him to work with. Also, that switch up of tempo towards the end of the song back to a ballad style for rap, was something I appreciated at that moment in this short 10 song – 52 minute album.
The album artwork makes so much sense after listening to the album because now, I can see that he is describing someone perfect that he rarely argues with. The artwork shows clouds over the woman’s face because only God is that perfect, and maybe God is female? These are questions I would love to ask Mac Miller about, because the concept to me is something that can be appreciated later on in his career rather than at this moment.
The album wraps up with “We,” featuring CeeLo Green, “My Favorite Part,” featuring Ariana Grande and the aforementioned “God Is Fair, Sexy Nasty,” featuring Kendrick Lamar. For the most part, the CeeLo and Kendrick features go mostly underused in my opinion, however I get the sense that Mac Miller was not leaning on the biggest rap star out at the moment to sell his album, which is a good thing. It speaks volumes for how confident he is in his own creation. CeeLo’s vocals are felt more-so than Kendrick’s.
I have come to appreciate Mac Miller’s work over time, and The Divine Feminine furthers that. Mac continues to grow as an artist and experiment to change up his sound so he doesn’t fall into a category. He clearly learned from his K.I.D.S, Best Day Ever, and Blue Slide Park days. Those projects are solid in their own rights however Mac has made it clear he wants to differentiate in his art.
Again, some drawbacks of the album is that some of features aren’t felt heavily, except Anderson .Paak, Njomza and Ariana Grande’s presences. As well as a few songs running a little longer than desired such as “Stay,” and “We,” the album feels as if it harkens back to his projects he had concepts for and wants to tell a specific story to a specific audience.
Final Verdict: 4.5/5
The Divine Feminine is notable because it is one of the few times Mac Miller is speaking positive vibes for a majority of time. Other than the idea behind a “divine feminine,” not existing, this album culminates what Mac has built the past three years since Watching Movies With The Sound Off and during a slight hiatus in 2014 that had him deal with depression and addiction. It is safe to say that Mac Miller has become a premiere artist in his own way, while still sticking to an independent feel of music even with the backing of a major label in Warner Distribution. Hats off to you Mac, I personally can’t wait to hear your next project.
Notable Songs:
Anyway, let’s get into the review. The album starts off strong with a slow, balladesque style for a rapper to create titled “Congratulations,” featuring Bilal. “Girl, I’m so in love with you,” clearly says what this album is about. There is nothing Mac Miller has ever wanted to be clearer other than his addiction issues which were discussed on GO:OD AM. This album is built around either a specific woman in his life, whether it is his now confirmed girlfriend Ariana Grande or his ex-girlfriend. It could also be a relationship that he has actually seen blossom throughout his own life, quite possibly his parents’ marriage. Or it could be Mac just spilling out his desires for a “divine feminine,” which as we all know, doesn’t exist.
The album immediately switches up styles, as the second track is the albums lead single “Dang” featuring Anderson .Paak. I absolutely love this song. From the style of rhymes Mac kicks as well as Paak’s vocals on a funky beat with horns in the background and a unique tempo that makes you want to do an old school style dance to. “If it’s love than why the fuck it come with pain, I just think that’s some bullshit,” is the epitome of things us millennials love to create memes and blog posts about.
I have to say that the album is a strong point in Mac’s career, however the third track “Stay,” goes on for about a minute too long and falls into the same category as “God Is Fair, Sexy Nasty,” featuring Kendrick Lamar, of being a song that could lose some weight if played multiple times in a short period. I was really enjoying that song until the 3 minute mark and never really was feeling the Kendrick feature or whole song much like “Stay.”
With that said, “Skin,” Planet God Damn,” featuring Njomza and “Soulmate,” are three more songs that take Mac to a different place than what we have heard from him recently. I find it interesting because on these songs I got a sense of stylistic approaches of his time spent on Faces, and Watching Movies… Whether it was beat selection, slow flow, fast flow, I got a sense of familiarity in these songs.
Remember, that every song is supposed to either describe this “divine feminine,” that Mac is rapping about or supposed to be telling the listener how he particularly feels about her. This is furthermore made clear with “Cinderella,” featuring Ty Dolla $ign, who by the way has been killing almost every feature he has been on this past year and a half. Good grab by Mac on that on as Ty is not someone I was expecting him to work with. Also, that switch up of tempo towards the end of the song back to a ballad style for rap, was something I appreciated at that moment in this short 10 song – 52 minute album.
The album artwork makes so much sense after listening to the album because now, I can see that he is describing someone perfect that he rarely argues with. The artwork shows clouds over the woman’s face because only God is that perfect, and maybe God is female? These are questions I would love to ask Mac Miller about, because the concept to me is something that can be appreciated later on in his career rather than at this moment.
The album wraps up with “We,” featuring CeeLo Green, “My Favorite Part,” featuring Ariana Grande and the aforementioned “God Is Fair, Sexy Nasty,” featuring Kendrick Lamar. For the most part, the CeeLo and Kendrick features go mostly underused in my opinion, however I get the sense that Mac Miller was not leaning on the biggest rap star out at the moment to sell his album, which is a good thing. It speaks volumes for how confident he is in his own creation. CeeLo’s vocals are felt more-so than Kendrick’s.
I have come to appreciate Mac Miller’s work over time, and The Divine Feminine furthers that. Mac continues to grow as an artist and experiment to change up his sound so he doesn’t fall into a category. He clearly learned from his K.I.D.S, Best Day Ever, and Blue Slide Park days. Those projects are solid in their own rights however Mac has made it clear he wants to differentiate in his art.
Again, some drawbacks of the album is that some of features aren’t felt heavily, except Anderson .Paak, Njomza and Ariana Grande’s presences. As well as a few songs running a little longer than desired such as “Stay,” and “We,” the album feels as if it harkens back to his projects he had concepts for and wants to tell a specific story to a specific audience.
Final Verdict: 4.5/5
The Divine Feminine is notable because it is one of the few times Mac Miller is speaking positive vibes for a majority of time. Other than the idea behind a “divine feminine,” not existing, this album culminates what Mac has built the past three years since Watching Movies With The Sound Off and during a slight hiatus in 2014 that had him deal with depression and addiction. It is safe to say that Mac Miller has become a premiere artist in his own way, while still sticking to an independent feel of music even with the backing of a major label in Warner Distribution. Hats off to you Mac, I personally can’t wait to hear your next project.
Notable Songs:
- “Dang!” featuring Anderson .Paak
- “Skin”
- “Cinderella” featuring Ty Dolla $ign
- “Soulmate”
- “Planet God Damn” featuring Njomza