Mac Miller walks a fine line. On one side is the well-respected, elite hip-hop world, on the other is the land of aggravating, mind-numbing frat rap. So far, Mac’s managed to establish himself as more than a legitimate hip-hop artist, his absurdly loyal fan base is the number one testament to that. At the same time, there are people out there who don’t think he belongs in any conversation with note-worthy hip-hop up and comers. The general reception of Blue Slide Park, his debut studio album, will establish which side of the line Mac falls on. Not that he cares in the slightest.

The album title is perfect for what Mac Miller’s about. Blue Slide Park is a local park around Pittsburgh where Mac and his boys used to hang out all day. Nothing intense or serious about it, just a park where they’d sit back and kick it…which sums up his album to a T. There’s no deep lyricism here, nothing that will give you a new perspective — but that’s not what he’s going for; that’s not his scene yet. It’s music built to vibe out to without doing too much thinking. It’s catchy hip-hop, appreciated most by party-going high-school/college kids. Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of witticisms and creative lines, but it’s all at the surface. You’re not gonna be rushing to look up any references he’s making (as you would for say…Childish Gambino).

Blue Slide Park definitely has it’s moments. “Frick Park Market” features Mac flowing perfectly on top of a glitchy beat, and demonstrates the kid’s rhyming skills front and center (“and i ain’t no hipster, but girl I can make your hips stir”). “PA Nights”, “Missed Calls” and “Man In The Hat” are all huge tracks in my book. That being said, I struggle to listen to Mac Miller for an extended period of time. I’m all for adding a couple of his songs to a playlist of mine, but when you give me an entire project of his and want me to listen to it straight through, it’s somewhat of a battle. I can only go so long listening to him talk about lighting blunts and drinking bottles of Hennessy every night.

Not that I don’t respect him; I fully support what he’s doing. He’s 19 and has established one of the more impressive fanbases in the game in a ridiculously short period of time. The dude is throwing sold out shows around the country, rakes in millions of views on all his YouTube videos, and will sell hundreds of thousands of copies of Blue Slide Park. There’s no denying that he’s dominating life, it’s a great success story.  I just can’t listen to him consistently like his superfans can.

Agree? Disagree? Hit the comments section, check out some album highlights below, and pick up your copy of Blue Slide Park here.

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