“Ain’t sayin that I’m a sober, I’m just in a better place.” Mac cruises through the 17-track album showcasing his ability to make complete, well-structured songs. Although he seemingly overcame his substance abuse problem, on the opening track “Doors” he makes sure we know that he isn’t exactly as straight-edge as his friend Tyler, the Creator who produced the track.

On Mac Miller’s major label debut, GO:OD AM he wakes up to find the once dim light at the end of the tunnel. When he nonchalantly notes “I’m a bit surprised that I’m even still alive/ Mixin uppers and downers, practically suicide” on the last verse of “Grand Finale” you can almost make out the classic story of an artist’s demise after using drugs and alcohol to cope with the life that comes with the industry. When you finally get to the last track on Faces you’ll find Mac on “Grand Finale” pondering his own death by way of overdose.

He was heading down a dark path of self-destruction that looked like it had no light anywhere in sight. By the end of the tape you couldn’t help but think that Mac might actually join the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse in the infamous 27 club.

His last full length project came in the form of a 24-track mixtape titled Faces - a tape laced with some less than subtle death rhymes. It’s a morbid line that captures Mac’s mindset up to this point in his career. “To everyone who sell me drugs/ don’t mix it with that bullshit, I’m hoping not to join the 27 club,” Mac Miller says on “Brand Name”, the second track on his third LP, GO:OD AM.

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