Mac Miller was sitting on a lot of unreleased music when he died unexpectedly at 26 in 2018. We’ve heard a bit of it in the form of some one-off tracks, some Madlib sets, and the 2020 album Circles, which was a companion piece to his final LP Swimming. Today, the rapper’s family has announced another posthumous album called Balloonerism, slated for release the Friday before what would’ve been his 33rd birthday.

Balloonerism was recorded about a decade ago, and rips of it have floated around online for a while now. Apparently, Mac, whose real name is Malcolm McCormick, insisted on releasing it someday, even after he shelved it. His family explains:

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. 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.

We believe the project showcases both the breadth of his musical talents and fearlessness as an artist. 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. With that in mind, we’re happy to announce that Balloonerism will be released on January 17th, 2025.