On Nov. 17, the release of the late artist Mac Miller’s lost album, “Balloonerism,” was announced at Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival, an event that mixes a state fair and hip-hop festival. On Jan. 17, over six years after the Pittsburgh rapper passed, Miller’s fourth posthumous album was officially released. “Balloonerism” was originally in the works around the same time of “Watching Movies With The Sound Off” and “Faces.”

Miller’s family shared a statement regarding the album’s very delayed release. “It is a project that was of great importance to Malcolm – to the extent that he commissioned artwork for it and discussions concerning when it should be released were had regularly, though ultimately ‘GO:OD AM’ and subsequent albums ended up taking precedence.”
There was also a short film that was shown prior to the drop of his album, with showings around the world on Jan. 15 and 16. The film opened up with “Excelsior,” providing its setting and characters, following them through trippy scenes and telling a story that is left up to the viewer’s interpretation. The story continues on with beautiful animation and portrayal of the album. The film is 24 minutes long and is now available on Amazon Prime for fans to experience.
When the “Balloonerism” tracklist was released around a week before the album was dropped, many fans were shocked to find SZA featured on “DJ’s Chord Organ,” as their friendship wasn’t well known. However, following Miller’s passing in 2018, SZA opened up about him being one of her closest friends when she first moved to L.A. in an Instagram post.
This song starts out playing an assortment of chords before Miller and SZA harmonize with the organ, repeating, “I’ve been runnin’, runnin’-runnin’ running ’round.” This is one of the more “out there” tracks on the album; Miller doesn’t have a real verse, and the sound of the song is far from SZA’s usual vibes. The chord organ adds so much to the beat, giving a unique sound and a darker, more edgy feeling.

The fourth track on the album is “5 Dollar Pony Rides,” which was released on Jan. 9, prior to the full album. This song, along with “DJ’s Chord Organ,” was also featured on the clip that announced the album to Camp Flog Gnaw.
“5 Dollar Pony Rides” gave listeners insight into what the rest of the album may sound like, having catchy yet meaningful lyrics, creative beats that constantly push the boundaries of music and good vibes, in true Miller fashion.
Track five, “Friendly Hallucinations,” is a beautifully thought-provoking song. Lyrics like, “Tell me, is it real if you can’t hold it in your arms, but it can touch you?” and “She’s fallin’ for her hallucinations / What’s love without imagination?” give an insight into what he’d been through and get listeners to ask the same questions.
Throughout the album, Miller opens up about his struggles with substances and the next song on the project, “Mrs. Deborah Downer,” is a plea to his fight with addiction. He shares that he wishes the highs would last longer and describes how the low points are when he really craves substances.
“Stoned” follows and has a very similar theme, but rather than talking about himself and his experiences, he sings about how he perceives a girl going through addiction. This song, in pair with its predecessor, tells a compelling story about being addicted and how someone else might see it.
Skipping ahead, “Funny Papers,” a track that was popular when some songs from the album were leaked around 2021, was provided to fans with a fully mastered and official sound. This song, along with multiple others on the album, was produced with the help of Thundercat, an artist Miller has collaborated with many times in the past.
“Funny Papers” tells a heartbreaking story of life and death while a light beat plays in the background. This song, like most of Miller’s works, turns a hard, emotion-packed poem into something that listeners can vibe to.

“Transformations” is on the weirder side of this project. Miller sounds as though he has taken in helium, a possible nod back to the album title and is extremely auto-tuned whilst rapping lyrics that are pure comedy. Lines like “Your b**** like a bad fart, all she does is linger” and “Just like you, I love football and lesbians,” give listeners a break from the more serious lyrics seen throughout the rest of the album.
Soon after, “Rick’s Piano” brings the sad, yet hopeful, feeling, talking about his struggles with fame. He archives this with lyrics like, “Please don’t nod your head, and please don’t tell me I made it / ‘Cause people start to get worse / Once they think they the greatest.” Overall, this album gives a lot of insight into what he was going through on a daily basis between his addiction and staying grounded even though he was so famous.
The project closes out with the track “Tomorrow Will Never Know,” almost 12 minutes of eerie instrumentals and intriguing questions for the world.
The whole album is utterly beautiful and full of that Mac Miller charm. The storytelling, ominous beats and thoughtful lyrics make this one of his best albums. It’s great that it finally got an official release, as it’s better late than never. Mac Miller will live on through his music and fans forever, 92 til infinity.