A final surprise. Mac Miller’s family announced that they are releasing an album by the late rapper on Friday, January 17, one year after his untimely death.
“Here we are. 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. Two different styles complementing each other, completing a circle—Swimming in Circles was the concept,” the family said in a statement on the Grammy nominee’s Instagram account on Wednesday, January 8.
Miller 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,” the family said. “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.”
The statement acknowledged that completing the project was “a complicated process” with “no clear path,” but Miller’s family knew it was “important to [him] 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,” they continued. “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.”
The family ended their message by thanking the entertainer’s fans, 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.”
Miller was found dead at the age of 26 in his San Fernando Valley home on September 7, 2018, just one month after the release of his acclaimed fifth studio album, Swimming. The cause was later determined to be mixed drug toxicity; he had fentanyl, cocaine and alcohol in his system at the time of his death. In September 2019, three men were arrested and charged for allegedly supplying Miller with laced pills.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
