“Faces” acts as a culmination of Mac Miller’s career, family, friends and inspirations throughout his life. The song also referenced similar themes of drugs that “GO:OD AM” did in a dark-humor tone that fans gravitated towards. “Apparition” features similar beats to those found in Miller’s 2015 album, “GO:OD AM.” This song features similar jazzy samples of horns and harder drum beats. A lyric in “Ave Maria” references his improvement in relation to the theme of the “Swimming” album: “I’m not drownin’ / I’m wadin’ in the water.” In “Circles,” Miller addresses his battles with feelings of anxiety and sadness that were mentioned in “Swimming” but provides a more optimistic tone, alluding to his journey in recovery. “Ave Maria” covers similar themes to those in “Circles,” Miller’s first posthumous album. Rolling Stone describes “Swimming” as Mac Miller’s fight to “keep his head above water,” which links to the song from “Faces.” The lyrics of “Colors and Shapes” feature a scene where Miller is having a conversation with a captain of a sinking ship: “ All of his passengers escaped to safety / But he was not done with his trip / He looked up and smiled, asked me, How do you do? / I told him, I’m losin’ my grip / He told me, Son, if you want to hold onto yourself / Then let yourself slip.” The song also features a similar lilting, soft beat behind a softer rap style that appears in “Swimming.” “Colors and Shapes” is described as “prehistoric ‘Swimming,’” featuring similar themes of feeling broken. Songs from the album also allude to previous songs and albums throughout his career. Miller described the project as representative of his childhood creativity, comparing himself writing the songs to Harold from the book “Harold and the Purple Crayon.” To access the original 2014 mixtape, fans had to make Miller a virtual sandwich through an app and would receive a download link in return. The 2021 album has 25 songs with features including Earl Sweatshirt, Vince Staples and ScHoolboy Q. “Faces” is a re-release of Miller’s exclusive 2014 mixtape of the same name. This explains the complete and genuine nature of both “Circles” and “Faces.” Miller had many projects in progress before his death, making it easier for producers to piece together samples and even full songs. This album was part of the plan for a trilogy that started with the 2018 album “Swimming,” before Miller’s drug overdose in 2018. In 2020, Mac Miller’s team released “Circles,” his first posthumous album. Juice WRLD, on the other hand, is rumored to have thousands of unreleased songs, making it easier to produce posthumous albums that stay true to the artist’s original sound and vision. Some fans felt these samples stayed true to Pop Smoke’s own raw sounds, but others felt that some of the featured artists took away from the authenticity of the album. Pop Smoke’s album “Shoot For the Stars, Aim For the Moon” was a collection of samples and clips woven into songs with gaps filled by other featured artists. However, these artists had completed most of the albums before their deaths, whereas much of “Doo-Bop” was a collection of unfinished samples that had to be spliced together, resulting in the loss of the artist’s original sound. Tupac and Notorious B.I.G.’s posthumous albums were perfect memorializations of artistry that was lost too soon. However, some albums have been praised for honoring the late artists and creating a bookend to their musical careers. Miles Davis’ posthumous album, “Doo-Bop,” produced by Easy Mo Bee, was ridiculed for having “a slapped together, disconnected feeling” by Time Magazine. There have been conflicting opinions about posthumous albums, as some argue the albums feel unfinished. Many posthumous albums have been released recently, following the untimely deaths of artists like Pop Smoke, XXXTENTACION, Lil Peep and Juice WRLD. This release and Miller’s other successful posthumous album, “Circles,” spurred discussion over posthumous albums’ purposes and abilities to honor late musical artists. 15, Mac Miller’s most recent album, “Faces,” was released on all streaming platforms as his second posthumous album. 15, is Mac Miller’s second posthumous album.
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