Two years since Watching Movies With The Sound Off, Mac Miller has returned with his first major-label album GO:OD AM and it does not disappoint. While not as good in comparison to Watching Movies With The Sound Off, GO:OD AM is still without a doubt, a wonderfully crafted project by the Pittsburg MC and a look at how time has developed the artist from “Easy Mac with the chessy rap,” to one of the most versatile and underrated rappers currently. It seems like it been a long way since Blue Slide Park but, a musical journey that has paid off in this latest collection of his 17 track LP.
GO:OD AM moves from the sad and sobering, to the weird and odd. The lyrical, to the typical banger and hitting every style that Miller has grown into in-between. With GO:OD AM moving smoothly from song to song, as Miller tells the story of where he was and where he is at currently, this is truly an album of growth and reflection. Featuring collabs with several well known artists to include TDE’s Ab-Soul, the Base God Lil B, Miguel, Chief Keef, and Little Dragon.
GO:OD AM may not be Miller’s best but, it’s still one of the best rap albums of 2015.
GO:OD AM opens with what feels like a dream state, in the first track Doors, before moving into Brand Name, a wide reflection of Mac Miller’s growth as an artist and self-made status in the rap community. One of the more solid songs on GO:OD AM, 100 Grandkids and the most commercial, Miller actually had to get clearance from Diddy for borrowing several lines from his Bad Boys For Life record. Other notables include Break The Law, Weekend feat. Miguel, When In Rome and Rush Hour, which features one of the most honest and direct hooks, “The World don’t give a f*** about your loneliness”.
Overall, GO:OD AM was a solid album and one that is uniquely Mac Miller. There doesn’t seem to be much, if any, interference from Warner Brother’s Records on the album, giving Miller the ability to be himself. While again, in comparisons to his last album Watching Movies With The Sound Off, GO:OD AM falls slightly short to its predecessor, this does not mean it’s a bad album in the least. This project displays Miller’s growth over the years, through not only his lyrics, but uses of different flows and styles on a variety of beats, as well as wide range of track choices. GO:OD AM may fall under the radar as one of the better rap albums of 2015, like YelaWolf’s Love Story or Dizzy Wright’s The Growing Process but, it is none the less one of the better hip hop projects to drop in 2o15.
