Mac Miller – Blue Slide Park Album Review
Post by Colton S., Nov 7, 2011 at 6:18 pm
I’ll start this review of Mac Miller’s debut studio album, Blue Side Park, by addressing Mac’s own words from the chorus of one it’s songs, “Got some soul like De La Dude/ they say I’m new/It’s nothing but some déjà vu/Every I where I go these people hate on you/De Ja Vu/ De Ja vu” First, don’t let him fool you, Mac Miller definitely does not have “soul” like De La Soul did. They made actual hip-hop, with substance (for you “new age” kids, go look them up). Second, maybe…just maybe, those people hate on Mac everywhere he goes because his music sucks. I hate to be so blunt, but I feel this album calls for it.
With that said, I actually had some hope for this one before I sat down with it. While I’m not a huge Mac fan, I will confess to giving some of his mixtape stuff a few spins when the mood called for it. He seems to be a humble and likeable dude. Hell, occasionally it seemed like he’d be the first white rapper to make an actual impact on mainstream hip-hop since Eminem (sorry Asher Roth…you had your chance). Less than one minute into the album’s first track, I was firmly slapped back to reality.
Actually, to be more precise, it was 43 seconds into the album’s intro track “English Lane” that I knew I was in for a painful listening experience. When I heard Mac utter the laziest rhymes in the history of music, “When life around you changes/ try to keep your saneness/try and keep your brain maintaining/ through the lameness” I almost shed a tear for hip-hop. The fact that lines like this can help make a guy one of the most anticipated young artists in the genre is truly a testament to how stale mainstream music has become.
From beginning to end, Mac brings very little substance in his subject matter. All you’re really going to hear is partying, girls, and how the kid is starting to make some money. Sure, that’s the norm these days, but there isn’t any cohesiveness from verse to verse. He’s all over the place. Even with his surface skimming level of lyrical depth, I could at least give him a break if he could take all that superficiality and turn it into an actual “song”. The result is an album of nothing but random “I’m the shit” statements pieced together over some beats.
It would almost be criminal for me to give his lyrics any more space on this page, so I’ll leave it at this: Mac Miller, at this point in his career, is a terrible lyricist.
Production wise, the album is far less offensive, and even has a few highlights. “Party on Fifth Ave” uses a sample heavy formula and ends up delightfully old school, and “Under the Weather” brings a strange sixties feel that’s pretty smooth. It does have one near unlistenable moment though, “Up All Night” sounds like some terrible late 90’s alternative rock, with a slight hip-hop influence. For the sake of the review, I got all the way through it once, but felt awful about myself afterward. Musically this one is bearable. That still isn’t a complement.
To Mac’s credit, the album isn’t a complete loss. I will admit that his unique voice and ability to “flow” over some complicated beats gives him some real presence on the mic. He’s got potential and it’s obvious. However, it seems like he doesn’t have enough “real life” experience to make “real life” music yet. It’s probably why not one track here seems like an actual song, but an extended rough freestyle session. With time, he could develop into a true artist, but he’s far from there. At only 19 it’s excusable, if not understandable. I’ll tip my cap to his obvious hard work, and the fact that he’s making moves.
However, I’d have a hard time recommending this one to anyone but the biggest Mac fans. Chances are if you’re in that category at this point, he could probably release 45 minutes of silence and you’d buy it anyway though.
SPEAK UP