Mac Miller's greatest work appears to be coming to streaming platforms. The Faces mixtape has remained off of Apple Music, Spotify and similar services since its release in 2014 because of sample clearance issues and other types of red tape. However, that might be soon to change.
Face Mills
Mac Miller's 2014 mixtape ‘Faces' is coming to streaming services 🎧🎭 pic.twitter.com/YHrgePru0x
— BroBible (@BroBible) February 24, 2021
Faces is the eleventh and final mixtape by American rapper Mac Miller.It was independently released for free download on Mother's Day of that year, May 11, 2014. The mixtape is the follow-up to Miller's second studio album Watching Movies with the Sound Off (2013), and is considered by many to be his magnum opus for its dark and personal exploration of Miller's struggle with drug addiction. Spota Faces Five Years In Prison + Dumping Caught On Camera - Miller Place-Rocky Point, NY - The Miller Place-Rocky Point Daily is the quickest way to get caught up on everything worth knowing. ⬇️ Listen Together with Spotify on the SYPHER App:do not own this music, posting only for sharing purposes. Download/Stream Mac Miller's mixtape, Faces, for Free at MixtapeMonkey.com - Download/Stream Free Mixtapes and Music Videos from your favorite Hip-Hop/R&B artists. The easiest way to Download Free Mixtapes!
In a Reddit thread where fans were speculating about the status of the tape, Miller's longtime friend and producer ID Labs (who produced 'It Just Doesn't Matter' and 'Therapy' from the tracklist) caught wind of the comment. He confirmed that clearance for Faces is in the works.
Producer and friend of Mac Miller, ID Labs, confirms on Reddit that Faces will soon be on streaming services 👀 pic.twitter.com/RwNlHlhIl8
— 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙙. (@StrappedHH) February 23, 2021
However, after his comment took off, IDLabs posted a cryptic response to the speculation on Twitter.
But did I? 🤔
— E. Dan (@IdlabsMusic) February 24, 2021
There hasn't been any timeframe given as to when you can expect Faces to hit iTunes and Spotify, but even the idea of having easier access to Miller's brilliance is exciting. If the project does arrive on digital streaming platforms as ID Labs is believed to have said on Reddit, it will be Miller's second mixtape to hit DSPs in the last year. His breakout tap K.I.D.S. was added in April to celebrate its tenth anniversary and the re-release came with two new songs.
Faces is a musical masterpiece and it has only taken on more meaning since Miller's sudden passing. From start to finish, the mixtape brings the listener on a drug-fueled journey into mind of an addict who is on the verge of fully understanding his issues. The lyrics are a message that Mac is passing along about what was truly going on in his life and thoughts in that time. He was going through some deep shit and there is no denying that it's dark, twisted and depressing. But the way that he paints the picture with his words and shares the inner-workings of his mind makes it rather beautiful.
Musically, the production value is unmatched, the samples each bring something unique to the table, Mac's laidback voice presents his lyrics at the forefront and the beats accompany the jazz elements perfectly.
The mixtape is something to cherish. Hopefully soon, it will hit streaming platforms and become more accessible to those who haven't heard the brilliance— or those who just want to set it on repeat and let Larry Fisherman do his thing.
| Faces | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Mixtape by | |||
| Released | May 11, 2014 | ||
| Recorded | 2013–2014 | ||
| Genre | |||
| Length | 85:38 | ||
| Label | REMember | ||
| Producer |
| ||
| Mac Miller chronology | |||
| |||
| Singles from Faces |
Faces is the eleventh and final mixtape by American rapper Mac Miller. It was independently released for free download on Mother's Day of that year, May 11, 2014. The mixtape is the follow-up to Miller's second studio album Watching Movies with the Sound Off (2013), and is considered by many to be his magnum opus for its dark and personal exploration of Miller's struggle with drug addiction.[2][3]
Miller produced most of Faces himself, and moved towards creating more psychedelic and jazzy instrumentals for his increasingly dark lyrical themes. Yet, its jazziness is not a departure from Miller's previous work, acknowledging the project he released under the alias Larry Lovestein titled You that was centered around jazz instrumentals. It continues to build upon and experiment with the psychedelic sounds of Watching Movies with the Sound Off. The mixtape features guest appearances from Rick Ross, Earl Sweatshirt, Schoolboy Q, Mike Jones, Sir Michael Rocks, Vince Staples, Ab-Soul, Dash, and Miller's pet dog King Ralph of Malibu.
It was named 'Mixtape of the Week' by Stereogum on May 14, 2014,[4] given a 7.3 rating by Pitchfork,[5] and noted by Billboard on May 11, 2014.[6]
Production[edit]
Mac Miller serves as the executive producer under his production pseudonym 'Larry Fisherman', serving as the sole producer for over half of the songs on the track list. ID Labs handled production for two songs, while Earl Sweatshirt produced the songs 'Polo Jeans' & 'New Faces' under his own production pseudonym, 'randomblackdude'. Thundercat, DrewByrd, Rahki, THC, Big Jerm & 9th Wonder produced one song each on the mixtape.
Faces includes various spoken word and movie samples interspliced throughout the album. These notably include Charles Bukowski on 'Wedding', Hunter S. Thompson at the beginning of 'Funeral', and Bill Murray from the 1979 comedy Meatballs at the beginning of 'It Just Doesn't Matter'. These samples have been credited as the reason that Faces has not been released on streaming services despite high demand.
Musically, the production value is unmatched, the samples each bring something unique to the table, Mac's laidback voice presents his lyrics at the forefront and the beats accompany the jazz elements perfectly.
The mixtape is something to cherish. Hopefully soon, it will hit streaming platforms and become more accessible to those who haven't heard the brilliance— or those who just want to set it on repeat and let Larry Fisherman do his thing.
| Faces | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Mixtape by | |||
| Released | May 11, 2014 | ||
| Recorded | 2013–2014 | ||
| Genre | |||
| Length | 85:38 | ||
| Label | REMember | ||
| Producer |
| ||
| Mac Miller chronology | |||
| |||
| Singles from Faces |
Faces is the eleventh and final mixtape by American rapper Mac Miller. It was independently released for free download on Mother's Day of that year, May 11, 2014. The mixtape is the follow-up to Miller's second studio album Watching Movies with the Sound Off (2013), and is considered by many to be his magnum opus for its dark and personal exploration of Miller's struggle with drug addiction.[2][3]
Miller produced most of Faces himself, and moved towards creating more psychedelic and jazzy instrumentals for his increasingly dark lyrical themes. Yet, its jazziness is not a departure from Miller's previous work, acknowledging the project he released under the alias Larry Lovestein titled You that was centered around jazz instrumentals. It continues to build upon and experiment with the psychedelic sounds of Watching Movies with the Sound Off. The mixtape features guest appearances from Rick Ross, Earl Sweatshirt, Schoolboy Q, Mike Jones, Sir Michael Rocks, Vince Staples, Ab-Soul, Dash, and Miller's pet dog King Ralph of Malibu.
It was named 'Mixtape of the Week' by Stereogum on May 14, 2014,[4] given a 7.3 rating by Pitchfork,[5] and noted by Billboard on May 11, 2014.[6]
Production[edit]
Mac Miller serves as the executive producer under his production pseudonym 'Larry Fisherman', serving as the sole producer for over half of the songs on the track list. ID Labs handled production for two songs, while Earl Sweatshirt produced the songs 'Polo Jeans' & 'New Faces' under his own production pseudonym, 'randomblackdude'. Thundercat, DrewByrd, Rahki, THC, Big Jerm & 9th Wonder produced one song each on the mixtape.
Faces includes various spoken word and movie samples interspliced throughout the album. These notably include Charles Bukowski on 'Wedding', Hunter S. Thompson at the beginning of 'Funeral', and Bill Murray from the 1979 comedy Meatballs at the beginning of 'It Just Doesn't Matter'. These samples have been credited as the reason that Faces has not been released on streaming services despite high demand.
Schoolboy Q is featured on the third track 'Friends', but does not have a verse. Instead he provides ad libs and the 'Miller Mac' chorus, similar to his work on 'Pneumonia' off of Danny Brown's 2016 album Atrocity Exhibition.
Ab-Soul is listed as a feature on 'Polo Jeans', but only his trademark 'Soul!' ad lib is present at the end of the track. He originally had a full verse that ended the song, but requested Miller remove it before the album was officially released. The original version with his verse still remains unreleased.
Critical reception[edit]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| HipHopDX | [7] |
| Pitchfork Media | 7.3/10[8] |
| PopMatters | 7/10[9] |
Faces was met with positive reviews upon release, and noted for its themes and exploration of psychosis, addiction, and mortality. Many regard it as perhaps Mac Miller's greatest work, and laud Miller's unique, jazzy production as some of his best.
Faces has gained significant cult status amongst rap fans as one of the best mixtapes ever released, particularly during the internet mixtape boom of the early 2010s. It was released at the end of a particularly prolific period for Miller and many of his close friends and collaborators in the rap underground, including Earl Sweatshirt, Vince Staples, ScHoolboy Q, and Ab-Soul, all of whom are featured on Faces. Between 2013-2014, the five of them collaborated on a variety of projects including Vince's Stolen Youth (2013), Earl's Doris (2013), Miller's Watching Movies with the Sound Off (2013), and Ab-Soul's These Days (2014).
Faces Mac Miller Spotify
Faces was rated the eighteenth best rap album of 2014 by Rolling Stone.[10]
Track listing[edit]
- All tracks written by Malcolm McCormick and produced by McCormick under the moniker Larry Fisherman, except where noted
Face Mill Tool
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 'Inside Outside' | Thundercat | 1:55 | |
| 2. | 'Here We Go' |
| DrewByrd | 2:48 |
| 3. | 'Friends' (featuring Schoolboy Q) | 6:38 | ||
| 4. | 'Angel Dust' (featuring King Ralph of Malibu) | 3:43 | ||
| 5. | 'Malibu' | 3:31 | ||
| 6. | 'What Do You Do' (featuring Sir Michael Rocks) |
| 3:50 | |
| 7. | 'It Just Doesn't Matter' |
| ID Labs | 3:37 |
| 8. | 'Therapy' | ID Labs | 4:10 | |
| 9. | 'Polo Jeans' (featuring Earl Sweatshirt and Ab-Soul) |
| randomblackdude | 3:42 |
| 10. | 'Happy Birthday' | Rahki | 2:53 | |
| 11. | 'Wedding' |
| THC | 4:10 |
| 12. | 'Funeral' | 3:44 | ||
| 13. | 'Diablo' | 3:18 | ||
| 14. | 'Ave Maria' | 2:56 | ||
| 15. | '55' (featuring Thundercat) |
| 0:53 | |
| 16. | 'San Francisco' | 2:44 | ||
| 17. | 'Colors and Shapes' | 5:31 | ||
| 18. | 'Insomniak' (featuring Rick Ross) | Big Jerm | 4:06 | |
| 19. | 'Uber' (featuring Mike Jones) |
| 4:31 | |
| 20. | 'Rain' (featuring Vince Staples) | 9th Wonder | 2:34 | |
| 21. | 'Apparition' | 3:28 | ||
| 22. | 'Thumbalina' | 3:06 | ||
| 23. | 'New Faces v2' (featuring Earl Sweatshirt and Dash) |
| randomblackdude | 5:31 |
| 24. | 'Grand Finale' | 3:36 | ||
| Total length: | 85:38 |
Notes[edit]
- 'Therapy' features additional vocals by Syd tha Kyd
- 'New Faces v2' features additional vocals by Ab-Soul
References[edit]
- ^'Diablo - Single by MAC MILLER on iTunes'. Itunes.apple.com. 2014-09-03. Retrieved 2017-05-10.
- ^EOrtiz (2013-06-19). 'Mac Miller - Watching Movies With The Sound Off'. HipHopDX. Archived from the original on 2017-05-13. Retrieved 2017-05-10.
- ^Fairfax, Jesse (2014-05-15). 'Mac Miller - Faces (Mixtape)'. HipHopDX. Retrieved 2017-05-10.
- ^Breihan, Tom (May 14, 2014). 'Mixtape Of The Week: Mac Miller Faces'. Stereogum, a member of Spin Music, a division of SpinMedia. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
- ^Jenkins, Craig (May 22, 2014). 'Mac Miller Faces'. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
- ^Stutz, Colin (May 11, 2014). 'Mac Miller on New Mixtape 'Faces': 'Don't Tell My Mama I Got a Drug Problem''. Billboard. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
- ^Fairfax, Jesse (2014-05-15). 'Mac Miller - Faces (Mixtape)'. HipHopDX. Retrieved 2017-05-10.
- ^Craig Jenkins (2014-05-22). 'Mac Miller: Faces Album Review'. Pitchfork. Retrieved 2017-05-10.
- ^Francesca D'Arcy-Orga (2014-07-22). 'Mac Miller: Faces'. PopMatters. Retrieved 2017-05-10.
- ^Weingarten, Christopher R. (2014-12-23). 'Mac Miller, 'Faces' | 40 Best Rap Albums of 2014'. Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2017-05-10.
