Mac Miller Explores His Sensual Side on ‘The Divine Feminine’

Matt Matasci

Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller’s evolution has been something to behold. While his 2011 debut “Blue Slide Park,” paid homage to his roots and showed glimmers of promise, it ultimately fell flat. After he dropped the party-guy persona and touched on more universal themes with 2015 breakthrough “GO:OD AM,” he began to gain the respect of critics and now Miller follows that up with his soulful “The Divine Feminine,” playing the part of the smooth lover.  

Lyrical immaturity was an early hurdle upon which Miller has improved, but his delivery still sports that love-it-or-hate-it quality that left his debut album with more negative reviews than positive. Lethargically drawling through verses, the rapper blends in well with his instrumental surroundings, never standing out from the mix.

Matching the album’s title, female voices are featured prominently throughout. In fact, It opens with a female choir of harmonizing women while a woman introduce the MC. “Dang!” also features ladies on the chorus and, between the ringing horn sections and Miller’s strongly-delivered verses, this song is easily the best on the album. Its final moments feature a feigned female orgasm as segue to “Skin.”  As the title suggests, its lyrics revolves around sex, emphasized by sensual saxophone lines.

Ariana Grande comes on for the jazz-informed “My Favorite Part,” a simple track that almost completely forgoes hip-hop in favor of soulful R&B. The way Miller duets with the Grande proves that, if rapping didn’t work out, he could have had successful a singing career.

Two of the ten tracks on “The Divine Feminine” stretch to exceptional lengths, particularly for hip-hop songs. The first to breach the eight minute mark is “Cinderella,” which features another rising rap star, Los Angeles’ Ty Dolla $ign. The song lacks much in the way of dynamics, revolving around a repetitive, bare-bones guitar riff and Ty Dolla $ign’s vocals but the rapper’s trademark, applying heavy helpings of vocal effects, feels trite and boring. Another Los Angeles rapper, Kendrick Lamar, joins the mix for the album’s second extended song. “God is Fair, Nasty, Sexy” finds Lamar elevating an already well put together mix, his dynamic delivery twisting through the sinewy beats. While the track stretches past eight minutes and twenty seconds, the actual song only lasts a few minutes. Then, a jazzy interlude enters, concluding the album with a woman recalling her beautiful life and “how important it is to love, respect and care for each other.”

With “The Divine Feminine”, Miller has given his fans something to get excited about and offers plenty to attract new followers. With excellent production, its themes of love and romance, this is Miller’s most cohesive to date and rates as one of 2016’s top hip-hop releases.

“The Divine Feminine” is available on Apple Music Sept. 16.