Posthumous releases are a delicate subject: the line between honouring an artist’s legacy and shamelessly cashing out is impossibly thin, and it’s one the hip-hop community has seen far too many estates fall on the wrong side of. Despite that, Mac Miller’s family and colleagues have received nothing but praise in the last few years after the release of ‘Circles’ in 2020— an important addition to the discography, the album felt like a suitable yet haunting farewell from one of the most honest voices in rap, tying up a remarkable catalogue. That was until late 2024, when an official release for the 2014 project ‘Balloonerism’ was announced. Providing one of the deepest and most intimate explorations of addiction and mortality in Miller’s catalogue, the record takes on a truly uncanny feeling after his passing— though not as consistently enjoyable as cuts like ‘Swimming,’ we can’t deny the visceral response ‘Balloonerism’ evokes in 2025.

Mac Miller was never one to shy away from revealing and highly personal subject material on his past endeavours, and ‘Balloonerism’ is no different. Much of the track list focuses on his drug issues, highlighting the frightening self-awareness Miller exhibited, and the mental health struggles that permeated his relationships. Throughout its first leg, the record embodies a deep sense of monotony and resigned despair, echoing the real world struggles of the time— ‘Do You Have A Destination?,’ for example, sees Miller exploring his dissatisfaction with life, even after his successes.

“I gave my life for this sh*t, already killed myself

We ain’t the same, homie

The world afraid to change, but it changed on me”

This melancholic outlook bleeds into the view on the world presented across the album, seeing Mac Miller at one of his lowest and most introspective points. The simple yet evocative metaphor that “if pills can turn to powder, then this world could turn to ash,” from ‘Mrs. Deborah Downer,’ refines ‘Balloonerism’ down to a core theme of nihilism, and the record explores these ideas in an impassioned yet reserved manner.

As the record evolves, however, it takes on an even more despondent mood as Miller’s interest in his own mortality enters the limelight. ‘Funny Papers’ has already garnered praise for its perspectives on death and grief, seeing Mac reading about a banker’s death in the newspaper and reflecting on his own life as a result— it’s a haunting passage, demonstrating his talent for emotive songwriting.

“Some angry banker, some kind of money trader

Recently divorced, was drunk drivin’ down the highway

And drove off the bridge to his wedding song

Blew out the bass in his speakers

You can still hear the treble goin’”

This focus on mortality is even more touching in 2025 than it would have been had ‘Balloonerism’ released in 2014, often sounding like Miller is speaking out from beyond the grave. As the record winds down, the echoing refrains of “what does death feel like?” and “do they dream just like we do?” leave things on a truly haunting note, tying up the album’s heavy themes, and Mac Miller’s entire discography, gracefully.

Musically, the record leans into the jazz-influenced sound previously explored by ‘Faces’ and ‘GO:OD AM’ while injecting healthy doses of reverb and room in on the production end. Many tracks are dominated by bass and piano interplay, with both elements being consistently inspired and infectious— lead single ‘5 Dollar Pony Rides,’ for instance, houses one of the most cheerful beats on the album as the song bounces along with a carefree rhythm before erupting into feverish a cappella. As with the lyrical content, ‘Balloonerism’ grows increasingly dark and claustrophobic as it progresses, sinking slowly into the sorrowful keys of ‘Excelsior’ and the final ringing phones and dissonant whispers of closer ‘Tomorrow Will Never Know.’ Admittedly, many of these cuts suffer from the weak, atonal singing that has often plagued Miller’s work, and we’d be hard pressed to argue that some more melodic cuts don’t suffer as a result— SZA’s confident displays on ‘DJ’s Chord Organ’ are a hard act to follow. Even still, the album builds on its musical ideas confidently, and has left us more than satisfied.

Despite our praise, we still wouldn’t argue ‘Balloonerism’ to be Mac Miller’s best album— for all its thematic depth and musical intimacy, the record is plagued by some persistent shortcomings that hold it back in places. Most notably, the album stretches itself out for far too long, content to jam on its various beats even when the lyrical well has run dry. The outro for ‘5 Dollar Pony Rides’ is a fun moment— the needless bloat of ‘Rick’s Piano’ or ‘Tomorrow Will Never Know’ are less integral, and the latter should probably have been cut in half. The album also suffers from some unfortunate inconsistency at times: in all honesty, we could have lived without the half-baked beats on ‘Shangri-La’ or the irritating pitched vocals and repetitive piano runs of ‘Transformations.’ With some more refinement, ‘Balloonerism’ could have sat among Miller’s best releases— as it is, the album doesn’t quite reach the consistency of ‘Swimming’ or ‘Circles,’ though that is an extremely high bar.

It’s impossible to know whether ‘Balloonerism’ would’ve received such strong praise, had it been released during Mac Miller’s life— context is everything, and it’s undeniable that the album’s themes of mortality and nihilism carry additional weight after his passing. Even divorced from that backdrop though, the album would still be a visceral exploration of important, wide-reading ideas, delivered in an expressive, intimate manner. It’s a worthy send-off to one of the most beloved and relatable figures in modern hip-hop, and we can only hope that other artists take inspiration— as Miller himself says on ‘Rick’s Piano,’ “the best is yet to come.”