Malcolm Henry
A 25-track mixtape by beloved Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller will be available on streaming services and on vinyl starting Friday, Oct. 15.
The mixtape, titled Faces, was created by Miller back in 2014, before his death in 2018, and was ranked as one Top 20 Best Rap Albums of that year by Rolling Stone.
Faces was originally released as free download between his sophomore album Watching Movies With The Sound Off and his third GO:OD AM. It was first dropped on Mother’s Days and showcased a jazzy, psychedelic vibe, which lit the path for Miller to grow into a megastar with each subsequent project.
The announcement coincided with a new music video for the song “Colors and Shapes,” directed by Sam Mason.
He continued with a statement on the release, saying, “The track felt very visual to me—like it had its own world,” Mason said in a statement. “This atmospheric nighttime place that was sometimes dangerous, sometimes comforting, then I saw a picture of Ralph and a story emerged. To build it out I asked Malcolm’s family to send me bits and pieces from his childhood, scenes from the town where he grew up, objects, toys from his room—little pieces of his life that I extrapolated outwards and used to inspire the story. In the abstract, it’s meant to be a video about childhood—growing up as an artist and the highs and lows of that experience. It’s sort of a look at the emotional and difficult and perilous but noble path of an artist.”
Miller was a troubled talent from his emergence, telling Billboard, “I’ll never pretend I have an inspiring story like certain people,” he said. “There are people here to tell inspiring stories, people like Kendrick Lamar or Big K.R.I.T. who have deep messages about things that…I can’t say. It’s not my place to say…I just make music that’s hip-hop. I’m not here to be a teenybopper sensation. I make music because I love making music. So whoever wants to love it, that’s who I want as my fans.”
Faces will also be available on vinyl for the first time on Friday. It can be pre-ordered here.
