Mac Miller - Watching Movies with the Sound Off

Released: June 18, 2013

This week marks a whole 5 years since artist Mac Miller released his sophomore album. How does it still hold up in 2018?

June 18, 2013. It was a pretty packed day for hip-hop 5 years ago. Kanye West was planning to release his sixth album Yeezus on that day. J. Cole decided to push his release date for Born Sinner forward from June 25 to the 18th. And Mac Miller dropped his second album on that day as well. Quasimoto & Statik Selektah happened to have some overlooked releases, and while their projects were amazing, we can save that talk for another time.

When the Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller broke out in 2010, his music was known to be very laidback and chill. To me, it sounded like white college boy music and I didn't enjoy most of his work from then, apart from "Of the Soul" and "Nikes on My Feet". Other than that, it just didn't appeal to me. It was in 2012, after the release of his debut album, when Mac's sound took a slight turn with his mixtape Macadelic, featuring a more psychedelic and spacey vibe. Mac started to deal with depression and drug addiction, after criticism regarding his debut and struggling with fame. This helped to influence the sound of his next few projects. Watching Movies with the Sound Off was one of them.

Watching Movies with the Sound Off came out at a very dark time in Mac's career, ending up being his most introspective, serious and personal effort in his discography, along with his 2014 mixtape Faces. The 16-track effort showed a major shift in sound compared to the turn in Macadelic, tackling with issues such as depression, drug use and lost friends & relatives, incorporating psychedelic and alternative music elements, and even singing a little more in a few tracks on the album (Mac would later release The Divine Feminine in 2016, featuring slightly more singing than rapping throughout the album). In my opinion, I thought this album was the best out of the bunch released on that day. Born Sinner is decent, Yeezus was trash; however, Quasimoto delivered with his album and Statik Selektah's album was a great compilation of amazing talent. But this just took the cake with the sound and vibes throughout the album.

Mac Miller sounds a lot more mature on Watching Movies with the Sound Off, stepping up his game lyrically and sonically. The album starts off with "The Star Room", which sets up the depressing and psychedelic mood throughout the project. With Earl Sweatshirt providing production (under the alias randomblackdude), Mac happens to take us on a journey through his life, touching on his current state of mind and dealing with criticism. A new alter ego from Mac was also introduced as a feature on this song, named Delusional Thomas, who has a more dark tone in comparison to Mac himself, having a big horrorcore influence in his content. Mac uses this ego more as a subconscious on this cut, digging deep into how he feels; starting off with “Hallelujah, thank God I have a future/Praying I don’t waste it gettin’ faded /Cause I’m smoking [bleep], till I’m coughing up tar.” Mac also brings out his production side Larry Fisherman on a few tracks on the album. "Avian" is one of my favourite songs on the album, with Mac himself handling the ambient production. Its name deriving from his love for nature and wildlife documentaries, Mac kills his verses with a nice monotone but intriguing flow and impressive wordplay.

Some of the best songs on this album are the ambient, serious ones where Mac gets a little introspective and personal on us. "I Am Who Am (Killin' Time)" is the best song on the album, hands down! With a beautiful beat provided by AdotheGod, Mac touches on his struggles with drugs and depression, and mentions the criticism he has received overtime; while Niki Randa delivers vocals for a nice hook. "Objects in the Mirror" is primarily singing, where, over some excellent Pharrell production, Mac uses an extended love imagery of a female to personify his addictions such as drugs and music. "Somebody Like You" is another one of the memorable moments on the album, embodying juxtaposed messages, such as death, being motivated, reflecting on his career and drug addiction.

The features and production are something so immaculate. The line up for features are small but they still do their thing. Action Bronson murdered his verse over "Red Dot Music", which also is my favourite beat on the album, thanks to the one and only Alchemist. Earl Sweatshirt provides a little hook for "I'm Not Real", which features an ambient and alternative vibe with the instrumental. "S.D.S" and "Watching Movies" are some of the more upbeat songs, with "S.D.S." featuring some wavey production from Flying Lotus. "Watching Movies" is one of those songs you can easily bang in the whip, and shoutout SAP on the beat. Ab-Soul jumps on "Matches", where both he & Mac share verses over a banging beat. Soul spins the hell outta Mac on this song, but Mac still did a decent job with his verse. "Gees" features ScHoolboy Q, and is another upbeat cut, with Chuck Inglish on the boards providing a nice beat. Mac did his thing but Q absolutely killed it, with his bars and delivery. Can't forget Jay Electronica, who delivers an uncredited verse on "Suplexes Inside of Complexes and Duplexes", he came through on that, plus the beat is pretty interesting.

With 16 tracks and a great lineup of features and production, Watching Movies with the Sound Off features Mac Miller at his best musically, going very personal and introspective on listeners as he deals with drug use and depression. And five years later, it still remains the best album of the bunch released on June 18, with good replay value and hardly any filler. Mac is my favourite white rapper and shit like this is the main reason why, improving musically with every new project.

Recommended Tracks: "I Am What Am (Killin' Time)", "Avian", "Red Dot Music", "Objects in the Mirror", "The Star Room", "Matches", "S.D.S.", "Someone Like You", "Gees", "Suplexes Inside of Complexes and Duplexes", "Watching Movies"