Mac Miller’s posthumous album, Circles — which was meant to be a companion to what turned out to be his final LP, Swimming — will be released January 17th, according to a note from Miller’s family on the late rapper’s Instagram.
Miller was working on Circles at the time of his death in 2018, and his family noted that the LP was supposed to have a distinct, but still complementary sound to Circles with the overall concept being “Swimming in Circles.” Miller had been working on the record with producer Jon Brion (who’d also contributed to Swimming) and it was Brion who decided to complete Circles.
“After his passing, Jon dedicated himself to finishing Circles based on his time and conversations with Malcolm,” Miller’s family wrote. “We are so grateful to Jon and to those who gave their best to the difficult and emotional task of putting out this body of work.”
The family continued, “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.”
Miller’s family also noted the difficulty of figuring out how to communicate the news to the world, and stated that their message would be the only post on any of the rapper’s social media channels. Going forward, details about Circles, Miller’s charity and any other information will be available via @92tilinfinity.
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“We are left to imagine where Malcolm was going and to appreciate where he was,” the family said. “We hope you take the time to listen. The look on his face when everyone was listening said it all.”
Miller died September 2018, just over a month after he released Swimming. The cause was an accidental overdose, with the L.A. County Coroners Office finding fentanyl, cocaine and alcohol in his system. Last fall, three men were charged in connection with Miller’s death and one has pleaded not guilty.