Maybe that’s what drove him to the edge of sanity and that too drove him back to our headphones. He has always been relatively braggadocios but now he too knows of his sharpened skills with the ‘mic and the respect he has been receiving as said in the very beginning of the song “It’s the rap Diablo, macho when I drop flows, bar gets raised up” and “rapping head honcho, rocking shows like I was Bono.” The essence of wisdom and disparity is evident in the first 25 seconds or so, with the line “the industry a lie, all the promises were hollow.” His fatigue with the music industry and will to persevere in it is a constant battle for him. The key progression at the beginning with the rappers vocal quirk of finding the rhythm gains ones attention as he gives us time to prepare for “bar” after “bar” after “bar.” The song is filled with them, but rather than witty one-liners or a few double-entendres, there is more. With a sample of Duke Ellington’s and John Coltranes “In A Sentimental Mood,” this song searches for and tells us of the darkness deep inside Macs own psyche.

In particular the one song that really had an impact on me was “Diablo.” A well sampled, haunting and bar-driven song that spoke so much and that was just done so well. But then Faces dropped and it was just so good. It’s an amazing piece of art and is what made me love Mac and his music so much. I always enjoyed his music but never really placed him high on my favorite rapper list. In my opinion, the record that forever changed how I felt about mixtapes and Mac Miller is Faces, a mixtape he dropped in 2014.

Somg sampled in diablo mac miller