One final gift.
Mac Miller’s family announced on Wednesday (January 8) that they will be releasing the late rapper’s first posthumous album Circles. The project, which was meant to be a “companion album” to what turned out to be Mac’s final LP, Swimming, is set to drop next week on January 17.
“Here we are. The act of having to write this at all feels surreal,” the family’s statement, which was shared on Instagram, began. “At the time of his passing, Malcolm was well into the process of recording his companion album to Swimming, entitled Circles. Two different styles complementing each other, completing a circle—Swimming in Circles was the concept.”
The late rapper’s family went on to explain that Mac had been working on Circles with singer-songwriter and producer Jon Brion prior to his death in September 2018. “After hearing some early versions of songs, [Jon] cleared his calendar to help Malcolm fine-tune them,” they shared. “After his passing, Jon dedicated himself to finishing Circles based on his time and conversations with Malcolm. We are eternally grateful to Jon and to those who gave their best to the difficult and emotional task of putting out this body of work.”
“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 family continued. “One of the most difficult decisions in the process is how best to let people know about it—how to communicate meaningfully while keeping sacred what should be kept sacred. So this will be the only post on any of his channels. Information regarding this release, his charity, and Malcolm himself will be found at @92tilinfinity.”
Mac’s family concluded their statement by thanking Mac’s fans for their unconditional support, adding, “We miss him. 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. With humility and gratitude, Malcolm’s family.”
