Mac Miller is gone, but he won't be forgotten.
Not only do we have the body of work the beloved rapper and record producer released before his untimely death from an accidental overdose on September 7, 2018 at the young age of 26, music that will live on as a soundtrack to the all-too-brief time we had with him, but he now joins the small list of musicians whose careers lived on well after we were forced to say goodbye to them.
After announcing plans to release Miller's planned follow-up to his hit 2018 album Swimming earlier this month, his family has unveiled Circles on Friday, Jan. 17.
"Here we are," a statement from Miller's family released in early January read. "The act of having to write this at all feels surreal. At the time of his passing, Malcolm was well into the process of recording his companion album to Swimming, entitled Circles." As the family shared, prolific producer Jon Brion, who'd worked with Miller on both the 2018 LP and its follow-up, "dedicated himself" to completing the project following the rapper's death "based on his time and conversations with Malcolm."
"This is a complicated process that has no right answer. No clear path. We simply know that it was important to Malcolm for the world to hear it," the statement continued, eventually concluding with, "We are left to imagine where Malcolm was going and to appreciate where he was. We hope you take the time to listen. The look on his face when everyone was listening said it all."
In conjunction with the album's release, fan pop up exhibitions celebrating both Miller's music and legacy will take place in Los Angeles, New York City and his hometown of Pittsburgh will take place on January 17 and 18. Entry is free, with all net proceeds from merch sales benefiting The Mac Miller Fund, which works to provide resources to young musicians.
As we honor Miller and the new LP, let's take a look at the other musicians who've sadly come before him, but whose careers kept them alive long after they were gone.
Circles is available now.