Mac Miller’s Balloonerism will be coming out on Jan. 17, 2025, his estate announced on Thursday (Nov. 21). The big news was paired with a trailer, which debuted earlier in the month at 2024’s Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival, and a closer look at the official artwork.
“Many of Malcolm’s fans are aware of Balloonerism, a full-length album that Malcolm created around the time of the release of Faces in 2014,” the late artist’s estate wrote via a press statement. “It is a project that was of great importance to Malcolm, to the extent that he commissioned artwork for it, and discussions concerning when it should be released were had regularly, though ultimately, GO:OD AM and subsequent albums ended up taking precedence.”
The project is expected to hit streaming services with a total of 14 songs just two days before what would have been Miller’s 33rd birthday. The release date will also mark the fifth anniversary of Circles, the rapper’s first posthumous album.
According to his estate, the upcoming LP “showcases both the breadth of his musical talents and fearlessness as an artist.” They explained, “Given that unofficial versions of the album have circulated online for years and that releasing Balloonerism was something that Malcolm frequently expressed being important to him, we felt it most appropriate to present an official version of the project to the world.”
When it comes to posthumous releases, the “I’m Not Real” creator’s catalog has arguably been handled the best out of today’s era of artists. Circles arrived in 2020, and earlier mixtapes like K.I.D.S. and Faces finally made their way to streaming services, much to his fans’ delight.
Other acts, like XXXTENTACION and Juice WRLD, haven’t been as fortunate, with the latter artist’s management claiming over 1,000 of his songs have been leaked to date.