Mac Miller is known for hit albums such as Swimming, The Divine Feminine, Circles, and the album that is here, K.I.D.S. It was a hit among the youth upon release, topping the charts at number 62, which may not seem good to the average consumer but is shocking for a freshman mixtape from an up-and-coming artist. Rapper, Logic, has even credited this album as inspiration for his first mixtape. The “modern” Mac Miller that we know is much different compared to the younger, rowdy one who we primarily hear on this album. Fans know this album due to hit songs such as “The Spins”, “Nikes on My Feet”, and “Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza,” with two of these songs racking up millions of views on YouTube. Some frequently ask the question: is this Mac Miller’s best album?
No, it is not.
Intro:
K.I.D.S., Mac Miller’s freshman album, was released on August 13, 2010, with debut singles such as “Nikes on My Feet”, “Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza”, and “Senior Skip Day.” This album has a lot of highlights, however, there are plenty of low lights to counter it. Many references are made throughout this album, including abusing substances such as weed and alcohol, ditching school, and living life. This project is Mac messing around the entire time. He doesn’t seem to really care about this album; he seems to really only want to promote his themes of having fun. Mac’s production is at a low on this album, with the beats being concise and inconsistent compared to the modern Mac Miller that his fans are used to. His songwriting is extremely repetitive throughout also.
Production:
Mac’s production is super inconsistent on this album. There aren’t many songs on this album that I can confidently say have good production. Produced by Andrew Lloyd, the only songs I can say have good production on this album are “The Spins”, “Nikes on My Feet”, and “Don’t Mind If I Do,” which samples OWL cities famous song, “Fireflies”. The beats on this album are super repetitive, and Mac doesn’t seem to flow well with these beats at all, with most of his flow sounding off in his songs. Although Mac tries his best to save the album with his flow, it’s not enough to compensate for how weak the beats are on this album.
Themes:
Mac Miller’s themes in this project are nothing but repetitive. He constantly brings up his drug and alcohol abuse problems, along with living life as a kid and ditching school. These themes get boring after a while of listening to this album. Mac doesn’t seem to really change anything, constantly talking about how high he is on most of his songs. There isn’t anything special or specific with the themes here, it is just Mac having fun. This album is titled “K.I.D.S.” since it is supposed to represent how a kid’s life is supposed to be, fun. K.I.D.S. is an abbreviation for “Kickin’ Incredibly Dope Shit”, which is the also name of the intro. There isn’t an exact meaning to this name, it’s just as simple as it sounds.
Lyricism:
To be completely frank, there aren’t a lot of songs with lyrics that you can really go in-depth with, due to most of the songs being so simplistic. However, there are two songs in particular that actually have some complexities to them. These songs are “Face In The Crowd” and “Poppy”. “Face In The Crowd” talks about how a high school Mac Miller is afraid of what’s going to happen post-secondary. This song shows a common fear among high schoolers who are afraid of life after senior year and college because they’re afraid of being another face in the crowd. “Poppy” talks about Mac Miller’s meeting with death and his personal struggles, explaining why he talks about abusing weed and alcohol so much. Mac also references the death of his grandfather poetically over Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth’s sample, provided by Mac Miller.
Conclusion:
This album for sure has its ups and downs. With its overall rating being a 6.8/10, it isn’t Mac Miller’s best with the repetitive themes, poor production, and weak lyricism. This album is a great starting point in Mac’s career, as it shows how far Mac has grown and how far he has come. Unfortunately, this isn’t Mac Miller’s best album. There isn’t much left to say, I would recommend this to anyone who is starting to get into Mac Miller, however.
Weakest Track:
The weakest track on K.I.D.S. is the intro: “Kickin’ Incredibly Dope Shit.” The beat is inconsistent, and Mac doesn’t flow well at all with this song. This track, in general, is just such a complete and total mess. There is nothing I can say about this song that is positive in any way, shape, or form.
Strongest Track:
The strongest track on the album is “Don’t Mind If I Do.” The sampling of “Fireflies” by Owl City is genius and frankly one of my favorite parts of the song. Mac’s flow is perfect with the sample/beat of the song. This song overall is perfect and the clear number one.
Song Rankings:
- “Don’t Mind If I Do”
- “Knock Knock”
- “The Spins”
- “Nikes On My Feet”
- “Poppy”
- “Outside”
- “Get Em’ Up”
- “Senior Skip Day”
- “All I Want Is You”
- “Face In The Crowd”
- “Paper Route” (feat. Chevy Woods)
- “Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza”
- “Ride Around”
- “Good Evening”
- “Mad Flava, Heavy Flow (Interlude)” (feat. DJ Bonics)
- “Kickin’ Incredibly Dope Shit (Intro)”
Final Notes:
Song rankings are always subject to change over time, so don’t take these too to heart. They also are just my opinion. With that being said, I would love to hear your opinions, so leave them in the comment section below. We also suggest subscribing to our blog. To do so, go under the tab “Contact” and fill out the form. That will allow you to receive emails of new blogs and maybe get them ahead of time. Finally, go give K.I.D.S. a listen for yourself, as I highly recommend this album to anyone who likes rap, and wants to get into Mac Miller.