Balloonerism

Balloonerism
Studio album by Mac Miller
Released	January 17, 2025 (2025-01-17)
Recorded	March 2014 [1]
Studio	The Sanctuary (Los Angeles) [1]
Genre	Neo-soul [2] [3] jazz [2] [3] psychedelic hip hop [4] [5] experimental music [3] [6] [7] psychedelia [8]
Length	58:43
Label	Warner
Producer	Larry Fisherman Jameel Bruner Ronald Bruner Jr. Taylor Graves Dylan Reynolds Thundercat
Mac Miller chronology
Circles (2020) Balloonerism (2025)
Singles from Balloonerism
"5 Dollar Pony Rides" Released: January 9, 2025 "Funny Papers" Released: January 17, 2025 [9]

Balloonerism is the seventh studio album by American rapper Mac Miller. It is his second posthumous album since his death in September 2018. Miller recorded the album in 2014, around the time his mixtape Faces was released. The album was released on January 17, 2025, under license to Warner Records, exactly five years from the release of his first posthumous album Circles , and features guest appearances by SZA and his alter ego Delusional Thomas.

Background

Balloonerism was teased on November 16, 2024, at Camp Flog Gnaw with an animated trailer. ^[10] Days later, on November 21, Miller's estate formally announced the album on social media. They released a statement that the album had great importance to Miller, and that he had commissioned artwork for the album and regularly had discussions concerning its release prior to his death. Familiarity of the project within his fanbase, due to unofficial versions circulating online for years, contributed to the decision to release the project in an official manner. ^[11]

The album was recorded in 2014, around the time Miller released his mixtape Faces . ^[11] The cover art features a painting of Miller by artist Alim Smith. ^[12] Balloonerism was released by Warner Records on January 17, 2025. ^[11] A short computer-animated film based on the album and directed by Samuel Jerome Mason was also released the same day on Amazon Prime Video. ^{[13] [14]}

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.5/10 [15]
Metacritic	77/100 [16]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[17]
Clash	8/10 [18]
The Guardian	[19]
The Independent	[20]
Rolling Stone	[4]
Pitchfork	7.4/10 [5]
Paste	7.5/10 [21]

Balloonerism was met with positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 77, based on nine reviews. ^[16]

Track listing

Balloonerism track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Tambourine Dream"	Malcolm McCormick	Larry Fisherman	0:33
2.	"DJ's Chord Organ" (featuring SZA)	McCormick Solana Rowe Stephen Bruner	Fisherman	5:15
3.	"Do You Have a Destination?"	McCormick Taylor Graves	Fisherman Graves	3:24
4.	"5 Dollar Pony Rides"	McCormick Jameel Bruner S. Bruner Ronald Bruner Jr.	Fisherman J. Bruner R. Bruner Thundercat	3:42
5.	"Friendly Hallucinations"	McCormick S. Bruner Graves Marlon Williams Antonio Hardy	Thundercat Graves	4:45
6.	"Mrs. Deborah Downer"	McCormick S. Bruner Graves Ashley Sousa	Fisherman Thundercat Graves	4:04
7.	"Stoned"	McCormick Malcolm McLaren Anne Dudley Trevor Horn	Fisherman	4:03
8.	"Shangri-La"	McCormick Graves	Fisherman Graves [a]	2:49
9.	"Funny Papers"	McCormick S. Bruner Graves	Fisherman Thundercat Graves	4:23
10.	"Excelsior"	McCormick	Fisherman	2:23
11.	"Transformations" (featuring Delusional Thomas)	McCormick S. Bruner J. Bruner Graves	Fisherman Thundercat J. Bruner	3:04
12.	"Manakins"	McCormick	Fisherman	3:09
13.	"Rick's Piano"	McCormick S. Bruner Dylan Rectenwald	Fisherman Thundercat Dylan Reynolds	5:08
14.	"Tomorrow Will Never Know"	McCormick S. Bruner	Fisherman	11:53
Total length:				58:43

Notes

• ^{^[a]} indicates an additional producer
• "DJ’s Chord Organ" and "Rick’s Piano" features uncredited vocals by Josh Berg
• "Friendly Hallucinations" contains a sample of "Just Rhymin' with Biz" performed by Big Daddy Kane and Biz Markie
• "Stoned" contains a sample of "Buffalo Gals" performed by Malcolm McLaren and the World's Famous Supreme Team

Personnel

• Mac Miller – lead vocals, percussion (track 1), drums (track 6, 9, 11), recording engineer (track 13)
• Thundercat – bass (tracks 2, 4–6, 9, 11, 13, 14), additional vocals (track 2)
• Taylor Graves – keyboards (tracks 3, 5, 6, 9, 11), drums (track 5), background vocals (track 8)
• Jameel Bruner – keyboards (track 4)
• Ronald Bruner Jr. – drums (track 4)
• SZA – vocals (track 2, track 5)
• Ashley All Day – additional vocals (track 6)
• Dylan Reynolds – additional vocals (tracks 12, 13), guitar (track 13)
• Josh Berg – recording engineer
• E. Dan – mixing engineer
• Mike Bozzi – mastering engineer

Charts

Chart performance for Balloonerism

Chart (2025)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [22]	12
Australian Hip Hop/R&B Albums (ARIA) [23]	2
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [24]	9
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [25]	1
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [26]	11
Canadian Albums (Billboard) [27]	5
Danish Albums (Hitlisten) [28]	10
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [29]	3
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [30]	36
French Albums (SNEP) [31]	33
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [32]	8
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ) [33]	23
Icelandic Albums (Tónlistinn) [34]	33
Irish Albums (OCC) [35]	19
Italian Albums (FIMI) [36]	45
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA) [37]	16
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [38]	3
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [39]	24
Polish Albums (ZPAV) [40]	5
Scottish Albums (OCC) [41]	11
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [42]	29
Swedish Physical Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [43]	9
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [44]	6
UK Albums (OCC) [45]	16
UK R&B Albums (OCC) [46]	1
US Billboard 200 [47]	3
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [48]	2

References

1. "Balloonerism - A Film Based On The Album By Mac Miller (Trailer)". Jan 16, 2025. Retrieved Jan 18, 2025– via YouTube.
2. "Mac Miller's 'Balloonerism': A posthumous masterpiece unveiled seven years after his passing". The Economic Times . January 17, 2025.
3. Kennedy, Mark (January 21, 2025). "Music Review: Mac Miller's lost album 'Balloonerism' is airy and experimental". Black Hills Pioneer .
4. Georgi, Maya (January 17, 2025). "Mac Miller's 'Ballonerism' Offers a Hazy Sense of Solace". Rolling Stone . Retrieved January 18, 2025.
5. Strauss, Matthew (January 22, 2025). "Mac Miller: Balloonerism". Pitchfork . Retrieved January 23, 2025.
6. Cruz, Charlie (January 21, 2025). "Review: "Balloonerism" is a graceful tribute to Mac Miller's legacy". The Rice Thresher .
7. Kase, Isabel (January 22, 2025). "Mac Miller's 'Balloonerism' is an Experimental Rejection of Drug Culture". The Heights . Retrieved January 24, 2025.
8. MacArthur, Greg (January 20, 2025). "Every Mac Miller Album Ranked". Screen Rant . Retrieved January 22, 2025.
9. De Rosa, Gianluigi (January 17, 2025). "Funny Papers – Mac Miller". EarOne (in Italian). Retrieved January 18, 2025.
10. Jenke, Tyler (November 17, 2024). "Camp Flog Gnaw Trailer Teases Release of Posthumous Mac Miller Album, Balloonerism". Billboard . Retrieved November 23, 2024.
11. Strauss, Matthew (November 21, 2024). "New Mac Miller Album Balloonerism Announced". Pitchfork . Retrieved November 21, 2024.
12. Horowitz, Steven J. (November 21, 2024). "Mac Miller's Balloonerism Album Release Date Announced". Variety . Retrieved November 23, 2024.
13. Bernstein, Elaina (January 16, 2025). "Mac Miller's 'Balloonerism' Film To Land on Amazon Prime Tonight". Hypebeast . Retrieved January 16, 2025.
14. "Balloonerism - A Film Based On the Album by Mac Miller". Balloonerism.film. January 2025. Retrieved January 16, 2025.
15. "Balloonerism by Mac Miller reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
16. "Balloonerism by Mac Miller Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic . January 17, 2025. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
17. Staff, TiVo (17 January 2025). "Balloonerism - Mac Miller | Album". AllMusic . Retrieved 23 January 2025.
18. Murray, Robin (January 17, 2025). "Mac Miller – Balloonerism". Clash . Retrieved January 18, 2025.
19. Empire, Kitty (January 17, 2025). "Mac Miller: Balloonerism review – poignant second posthumous album". The Guardian . Retrieved January 18, 2025.
20. Brown, Helen (January 17, 2025). "Mac Miller's posthumous album is a wonderful, if unsettling, reminder of a talent lost". The Independent . Retrieved January 18, 2025.
21. Green, Gavyn (January 27, 2025). "Mac Miller Floats Above Reality on Balloonerism". Paste . Retrieved January 28, 2025.
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34. "Tónlistinn – Plötur – Vika 4 – 2025" [The Music – Albums – Week 4 – 2025] (in Icelandic). Plötutíðindi. Archived from the original on January 24, 2025. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
35. "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
36. "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 4 (dal 17.01.2025 al 23.01.2025)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana . Retrieved January 25, 2025.
37. "2025 4-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. January 24, 2025. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
38. "Official Top 40 Albums". Recorded Music NZ. January 24, 2025. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
39. "Album 2025 uke 04". VG-lista . Retrieved January 25, 2025.
40. "OLiS - oficjalna lista sprzedaży - albumy" (in Polish). OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Note: Change the date to 17.01.2025–23.01.2025 under "zmień zakres od–do:". Retrieved January 30, 2025.
41. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
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