The release date of Mac Miller’s next album, Balloonerism, is a reference to his earlier posthumous work, Circles.
Balloonerism will appear on January 17, 2025, precisely five years after the release of Circles (and two days before his 33rd birthday), according to a statement made by the late rapper’s family on Thursday, November 21.
Balloonerism was founded in 2014 and “was of great importance” to the adored Pittsburgh native, according to a statement from Mac’s family.
“Balloonerism is a full-length album that Malcolm produced around the time of Faces’ 2014 release, and many of his fans are aware of it,” they stated.
Malcolm placed a lot of significance on the project, even commissioning artwork for it and holding many conversations about when it should be released. However, GO:OD AM and other albums ultimately took precedence.
“We think the project demonstrates both the range of his musical abilities and his fearlessness as an artist,” the statement went on. We believed it was most proper to release an official version of the project to the world, as bootleg versions of the album had been making the rounds online for years and Malcolm has always stated that publishing Balloonerism was important to him.
Balloonerism is available for pre-order on Mac Miller’s website in physical formats, including vinyl, CDs, and cassettes. There’s also a limited edition deluxe vinyl including a 3D pop-up centerfold, fold-out poster and 32-page booklet featuring photographs and lyrics.
During Tyler, The Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival this past weekend, a trailer for Balloonerism—which you can see above—was shown in between sets of Sampha and The Alchemist, hinting at the film’s release.
The soundtrack of the animated vignettes in the film includes two unreleased songs: “5 Dollar Pony Rides” and “The Song That Changed Everything,” which is said to feature SZA.
Alim Smith created the album cover, which features an abstract painting of Mac Miller with balloons as the motif. A few weeks prior to the rapper’s death in 2018, Smith shared a similar image on Instagram. “Need this,” Mac wrote as a comment on the post.
Balloonerism is “very zany,” according to Quentin Cuff, the rapper’s longtime manager, in his 2022 book The Book of Mac: Remembering Mac Miller.
“Mac was cooped up in the bottom studio [at Mac’s house in L.A.] with [engineer] Josh [Berg].” They were creating bizarre, unearthly, and bizarre creatures. In an excerpt from Passion of the Weiss, he stated, “They truly stood out at the time, and people loved it.”
Balloonerism is an album that was most likely produced prior to Faces. Faces were supposed to be a big part of it, and Balloonerism is its own thing. Many albums that were in the planning stages were released at that time.
