“Here we are,” the family of the late Mac Miller (real name Malcolm James McCormick) posted to his Instagram account on Jan. 8, announcing that they would posthumously release his second album on Jan. 17. “The act of having to write this all feels surreal. 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. He had been working with Jon Brion, who, after hearing some early versions of songs, cleared his calendar to help Malcolm fine-tune them.”
After Mac Miller’s tragic death from an accidental drug overdose on Sept. 7, 2018, Jon “dedicated himself to finishing Circles based on his time and conversations with Malcolm,” the family’s statement continued. “We are eternally grateful to Jon and 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. 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.”
“Thank you to all the fans who’ve supported him unconditionally through the years,” the statement continued. “We miss him. We are left to imagine where Malcolm was going and to appreciate where he was. We hope you take time to listen. The look on his face when everyone was listening said it all. With humility and gratitude. Malcolm’s family.”
Before his passing, Mac Miller released his fifth studio album, Swimming. It was described as Mac Miller’s “most impactful album of his career,” according to Rolling Stone. “If he could surface those demons with more vivid details and add texture to his lyrics instead of simply using them as a rhythmic device, then he may have a genuinely classic album in him yet. But if Swimming doesn’t quite achieve greatness, it connects. You can hear his pain and perseverance, even if he struggles to put it into words.”
Nine months after his death, Mac Miller released “That’s Life,” in which he rapped how he struggled with sobriety. “They told me don’t make a promise you can’t keep//All the drugs in your system you can’t sleep//How many times you had to buy plan B//For a girl you’d never bring back home to meet your family.”