Miller does not possess the personality or charisma of peers like Kendrick Lamar and Staples to warrant such a long album (very few do) and when he misses the mark, he does so badly. As previously mentioned, there are 17 tracks with a collective running time of well over an hour, which makes the whole thing feel rather bloated. Yet “GO:OD AM” is by no means perfect in any sense of the word. Other guests, including bass maestro Thundercat and Little Dragon, support the album well while simultaneously letting Miller be the center of attention, something we have not seen him do before. Top Dawg Entertainment introvert Ab-Soul provides one of his best verses in recent memory on “Two Matches,” and with “Cut The Check,” Chicago drill hero Chief Keef shows up with a renewed clarity we haven’t seen in a long while. While he has previously allowed himself to be shown up by superiors such as Earl Sweatshirt and Vince Staples, we only hear two guest rappers across this album.
It must also be said that, to Miller’s credit, his choice of collaborators here are absolutely spot-on. “ROS” plays out as a love letter to his long-term partner and what they have been thorough over the last two years, supported by DJ Dahi’s marvellous beat, which is as much Chilly Gonzales as it is DJ Mustard. On opener “Doors,” Miller briefly touches on his time out of the limelight professing, “Didn’t mean to cause you pain, I just needed to escape” with Tyler, The Creator’s typically beautiful production providing a perfect backdrop. These experiences have obviously inspired Miller’s newfound honesty, and his battle scars are etched all over the album’s 17 songs (as well as its title). In an enlightening interview with Grantland, he delved into his struggles with addiction and his time spent living with Rick Rubin in an attempt to get clean.
This probably stems from Miller’s state of mind over the past couple of years. The result is an album that is significantly more cohesive and interesting than anything that has come before. On lead single “100 Grandkids” he proclaims, “I may be a little arrogant, I’m aware of it/I know I got a problem, I’mma take care of it” over bouncing production, and this honesty is something that continues throughout. Now, the former WILD headliner is back with his third and best album, “GO:OD AM.” For the first time, it feels like we are getting to know who Miller really is beneath the party- and stoner-guy personas. For all their merits though, both struggled to truly captivate and inspire. That year he released his second album, “Watching Movies with the Sound Off,” a vast improvement upon his earlier work, and followed this up with the criminally underrated “Faces” mixtape last year. Since the turn of 2013, however, Miller has undergone a vast stylistic change, and he’s all the better for it. Back then, he was the party rapper who made dreadful songs about the man who is going to “make America great again.” When he first burst into the mainstream with his 2010 mixtape, “K.I.D.S,” it was a very different Mac Miller from the one we are witnessing today. Mac Miller’s career arc has been both fascinating and surprising. Tracks to download: “Break The Law,” “ROS,” “Clubhouse” For fans of: Schoolboy Q, Vince Staples, Ab-Soul
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