Today we will look at Mac Miller’s project GO:OD AM. The tile which can read either good AM or go O.D. AM. This is a very fitting title for project. As the project is filled with down tempo, and dreamy reverb soaked sounds. The whole project feels like your either falling asleep or just waking up stuck in the twilight. Either that or you get the feeling that your wide awake and your world is slowing down due to the drugs you’ve just taken, which is something that Mac Miller isn’t shy to reference.
Mac started his career making light hearted, stoner rap, in a very similar similar vein to someone like Wiz Khalifa. Thankfully Mac Miller always had hip-hop sensibilities and respect for the craft, which I believe lead him to avoid a lot of the pop influences that seemed to take over Wiz’s music. Instead we have seen Mac Miller grow a bit more introspective and a bit more questioning. These are all good things in my estimation because I wouldn’t want him to just keep rehashing the same weed raps over and over again.
With the arrival of this album, we see do see Mac Miller delivering poppier tracks than we saw on his last full length, Watching Movies With the Sound Off. Tracks like Rush Hour and the second half of 100 Grandkids, felt like they could be Drake singles. I actually feel like this is a good zone for Mac Miller, he is able to bring his own perspective to the sound and doesn’t feel like he is just rehashing the same material.
Mac Miller can deliver really funny bars which has always been part of his tongue and cheek style. Like I stated earlier, the whole album kind of feels like you’re just just waking up. Sleepy, spacey, slow, and deep based are adjectives that the Album brings to mind. Lyrically, we see Mac Miller opening up a bit about his life and current status; giving us the lonelier side of fame and a dark tone on drug use.
The album has amazing production. The beats sound very crisp, and we even have a few beats that just bang. The album does stick to a specific tone, but it works for the project. In the moments that we get Mac Miller talking about his personal life, I feel really interested in what he is saying. Mac Miller is funny as well, so I found myself laughing a few times while listening to the record. I feel like I got some of the best braggadocios rhymes I’ve heard from Mac Miller since Best Day Ever.
Although I do like the sound of the album, there is a limit to how long I can listen to this sound. As I listened to the album, unfortunately I started to feel that the album overstays its welcome. By the end of the album Mac Miller seems to have exhausted the sound and his subject matter. If Mac Miller dropped the last four or five tracks off the album I would have gotten a more enjoyable product.
Although we do get glimpses of Mac Miller’s life and how he is feeling. The album fails to give a clear picture of what is going on in Mac Millers life. Nor does the album bring a clear message to correspond to the reoccurring themes of the project. I don’t know if Mac Miller has a positive outlook on drugs, or a negative one. I don’t know if things are getting better for him or worse. I could see this being intentional to go with the twilight theme, but honestly I doubt it this ambiguousness hurts the album as a complete project.
If you are a fan of Mac Miller you should love this project as it is probably his best commercial release. There is enough in the album to make this an enjoyable experience for most hip-hop listeners. I will warn you, don’t go into this album expecting to be blown away with depth and lyricism because Mac Miller hasn’t really gone there yet.
I always feel like I get glimpses of Mac Miller, but I never really get to understand him fully.The story is almost like every generic music biopic. The musician starts to get disillusioned with the fast life and women and end up turning to drugs. I really just wish Mac Miller gave more specifics to his personal experience to give the album a little more life. Overall I feel like this is a good project, but a few changes could have made the album into a great one.
My last hip hop review: Run The Jewels – Meow The Jewels – Music Review
Thanks y’all see you in space
