So far, 2016 has found itself being a very interesting year for Hip-Hop. You could even go on to say that it has been a little less action-packed than what Hip-Hop delivered in 2015. Whether you agree or disagree, what holds true is that there have been some pleasant surprises that the metaphor and bar-heavy genre have unveiled this year. From TDE’s subtle dominance due to consistent releases, to Kanye’s visual reign, things have surely been interesting all across the board. For some of us, what comes as the biggest surprise is just how great Mac Miller’s newest studio album, The Divine Feminine, is.
Personally, prior to Mac’s GO:OD AM release, I would consider myself a casual fan. I knew of Mac Miller and his presence in Hip-Hop, but I wasn’t 100% sold. The talent was there, but some of the music didn’t connect with me. Once GO:OD AM arrived, I realized that something clicked with Mr. Miller and it was heard throughout the record that his skill level had appreciably improved. While most fans were still enjoying the sounds of that album, the announcement of The Divine Feminine came as a welcomed surprised. Led off by the Anderson .Paak assisted, ‘Dang!,’ it was a record that I instantly fell in love with. It was strikingly different from what ruled Hip-Hop airwaves at the moment and its sound was something that I didn’t hear from Mac just yet. All of that mixed with the impending theme and story of his album, the record became a personal song of the Summer and Mac Miller had all of my attention.
Now, as of Tuesday, September 20, 2016, we’ve had four whole days to sit with the body of work. Laced with just 10 tracks, it became immediately clear that there was little to no room for error. Just as I hoped, errors are pretty much nonexistent on this project.
The opening track, ‘Congratulations,’ sets the tone for what is going to be a soul-driven record. To be more precise, it’s the critique, love, appreciation and so much more that comes with the notion of feminine and women. Featuring Bilal, the stripped approach and piano instrumentation doesn’t automatically equal a more subdued Miller in terms of how he tackles the record. In fact, Mac seems to run down a quick and witty love story, which then leads into the always impressive vocals of Bilal. Ending equally instant and effective, we’re met with the groovy production of the album’s lead single, ‘Dang!,’ which sees both creatives rap & sing about wanting to keep a relationship intact while capturing listeners with infectious melody and feel-good production. Keeping the excitement factor going, ‘Stay’ instantly hits us with horns and also has the honor of being the first solo offering we get from Mac Miller on the album. While unimportant to this “review” or anyone’s care, it was at this point that I’m completely basking in the glory of the album’s initial sound. ‘Stay’ only enhances that and takes a much more traditional turn as the content gets a bit more romantic than the records that come before it. “Will you stay,” a distinctive part of the chorus, is the perfect question. Even if it’s not posed to us listeners, at this point, I’m all in. I’m staying.
Moving on to ‘Skin,’ we now have the album’s most sex-driven track. In what I like to call a rap-ballad, ‘Skin’ fuses his normal explicit nature with amazing background vocals and otherworldly harmonies. Mix that all together and it creates just another great album moment from the rapper on this project. Next up, Mac Miller calls on Ty Dolla $ign for ‘Cinderella,’ which is a personal favorite of the 10 tracks. Kicked off by Ty’s raspy vocals, ‘Cinderella’ is nothing close to the kid’s film and continues on with the sexual nature of ‘Skin’ as we get a slight Rock element throughout the work of art that displays the likes of Mac Miller & Ty Dolla $ign taking charge. If the song wasn’t already great enough, the remaining 3 minutes of the record allows for Miller’s passionate and surprisingly pleasing vocals time to shine and cap off an 8-minute moment of pleasantry. Rolling over to ‘Planet God Damn,’ featuring Njomza, we hear the rapper fully in his element as he reminds listeners of his lyrical prowess on the tune that beams the focus on honesty and baring it all. Coming up on some the album’s final moments, ‘Soulmate’ makes its debut and fosters production which seems to have taken a galactic-inspired spin that fits right in. If there was one record that embodied the “feminine energy” of the universe that Mac Miller spoke of when describing the album, it’s ‘Soulmate.’ Passionate and driven, Mac doesn’t hold back as he vividly describes any and everything that reminds him of the woman and his longing for her.
At this point of the album, this is where the Soul elements go up a few notches as Mac Miller & CeeLo Green fuse their worlds together on ‘We,’ which is undeniably the perfect follow-up to ‘Soulmate.’ With the record’s title being self-explanatory, ‘We’ is a vibrant voyage that builds throughout the course of 5-minutes and 19 seconds, with much credit to CeeLo Green’s always captivating vocal moments throughout the album’s 8th track. As The Divine Feminine isn’t the typical Hip-Hop album that some longtime fans of the genre would expect in 2016, we arrive at ‘My Favorite Part’ and temporarily land in the middle of the 90’s with the minimalist-styled composition. If more admiration from Mac Miller wasn’t enough, Mac’s real-life love interest, Ariana Grande, makes her featured appearance and throws the love and appreciation right back at her lover, just before the duo comes together for a harmonious moment. To put a perfect close to the album, we’re hit with ‘God Is Fair, Sexy Nasty.’ Yes, this is the highly coveted Kendrick Lamar collaboration. Simply put, every aspect of Mac’s artistry that was heard in the previous 9 tracks are found and perfected on this offering. In an area where Kendrick just might be underrated in, the rapper shines on the chorus, and while there’s no verse to come along with that, we’re still left full from a powerful collaboration that takes the sexual context of man and woman to its best peak on the album.
The truth is, The Divine Feminine turned out to be everything that I didn’t know I needed at the moment, especially coming from Mac Miller. Being one that always wishes for artists to push the boundaries in music and for their individual artistry, Mac Miller’s latest effort shows that a new barrier for the rapper has been shattered. Impressive at surface level, more gems and great moments are discovered with each listen. In what some may have deemed a risky move for Mac, it was one that paid off far beyond commercially. Capturing the elements of R&B, Soul, and Hip-Hop without sounding contrived and forced, Mac Miller delivered one of Hip-Hop’s best of 2016, thus far.
As just a few days ago I was simply a casual fan, thanks to The Divine Feminine, you can now sign me up for full-time fan duty.