Mac Miller — Blue Slide Park (CS)

Blue Cassette Tape Think Asher Roth with madder skills or Eminem without spite or baggage and you’ve got Miller in a nutshell, with some extra details being his charming, Pittsburgh-loving attitude along with his affiliation with a killer hometown production team called ID Labs, who help make Blue Slide Park sound like the old-school party rocking with the new school. This blast of college-kid enthusiasm that doubles as Miller’s official debut does come with some slight issues though, and if you don’t feel like poppin’ bottles or mackin’ on the honeys, it seems caught in a redundant loop of wine, women, and bong. Approach it unfettered and Blue Slide Park is like winning the lotto, where all of a sudden “frat” means “Animal House” and “backpacker” means “guy sneaking booze into the dorms.” Miller’s big challenge is that he follows in a long line of suburban college rappers who have thrown up whack mixtapes like they were yesterday’s punch bowl, but this memorable debut steps right around that mess and suggests that the kids are not just all right, but all the way live. ~ David Jeffries The limited edition 10th Anniversary Deluxe vinyl 2-LP features a die-cut gatefold jacket, clear vinyl with blue and yellow splatter, and a re-creation of 2011’s Blue Slide Park U.S. tour poster. Released: 6/25/21