Mac Miller’s Posthumous Album Circles Will Be Released Next Week

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A new album from the late Mac Miller will be released next week, titled Circles.

The rapper, real name Malcolm James McCormick, died on September 7, 2018 after an accidental drug overdose of cocaine, fentanyl and alcohol in his Studio City home in Los Angeles.

His death sent the world of music into mourning, leaving a huge void within the hip-hop community and so news of the album – which he was ‘well into the process of recording’ at the time of his death – has been welcomed with open arms.

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In a post from Mac’s Instagram account earlier today – the first on his page since before his death – the rapper’s family announced the posthumous album in a note, describing it as a ‘companion’ to the critically acclaimed Swimming.

The 26-year-old had been working with composer Jon Brion who, after his death, helped bring the album to completion after hearing ‘early versions of songs’ when the two worked together, according to his family.

Alongside the emotional note, which thanked his fans for ‘support[ing] him unconditionally’, was a caption revealing Circles‘ release date (Friday, January 17), as well as the cover art for the album.

The family’s statement read:

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.

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 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.

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. 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

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Comments on the post were disabled, but fans of the rapper soon took to other forms of social media to express their happiness that they would get to hear new music from their idol.

One person said they were crying ‘happy tears’ while another said they ‘haven’t been this happy in ages’. One wrote: ‘I’m looking forward to this. I still miss his voice in this world, but he’s always in my rotation.’

Another tweeted: ‘I can’t wait to hear it even though it’s gonna kill me to listen to it. I’m happy he created a final piece of work before his passing.’

After Mac’s death, he was posthumously nominated for a Grammy in the best rap album category, acknowledging the brilliance of Swimming, with fans hoping Circles will follow in its footsteps.

Rest in peace, Mac.

If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677.

Lucy Connolly

A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).