March 11 was the 13th anniversary of the mixtape “Best Day Ever” by American rapper Mac Miller. The mixtape was released March 11, 2011 by Rostrum Records following Miller’s last mixtape “K.I.D.S.”
While not being his best release, “Best Day Ever” is a great mixtape that uses different ways to make the listener really feel the music from using beats and instruments different from most rappers, then integrating the lyrics around the beat. The mixtape will often hide much deeper lyrics behind very fast and more fun music making it hit harder when you understand what he’s saying and referring to.
The introductory track, that is two minutes and 38 seconds long, is named “Best Day Ever” and begins with bells ringing that create what sounds like an alarm, around what almost sounds like the noise that’s made when you reverse what someone says. It reminds me of an old child’s music box. As the lyrics come in, you can hear the drums faintly beating once a measure in the background as the bells change into a synthesizer that “explodes” into the song. When the melody of the song comes in, the synthesizer gets even louder and the song’s tone changes. This song made me feel happy in the same way you feel happy after thinking about a good memory by using a simple, almost childish, beat. This song serves as a great intro to the whole mixtape using a very simple sounding beat to ease you into the rest of the album.
The fourth track of the mixtape is “Oy Vey” and starts out with a simple beat that quickly leads into a much more complicated beat that uses drums and what sounds like a synthesizer together which creates a very fun to listen to melody. The first lyrics of the song are strangely the chorus. The main topic of the song is Mac’s lifestyle and what he and the people he’s with do. For example, there’s a part of the song where he says, “The best night of your life but we do this every weekend” indicating that he lives a life of partying. The song also talks about what he’s going to do when he “makes it” saying “One day ima be so rich that I can buy my moms a house have a living room with a big TV.” Overall this song is great and shows how much Mac cares about what the people around him think of him and how much he cares for other people.
Track 6, “Wear My Hat”, is one of my favorite tracks of the mixtape. It starts with snare drums playing a marching cadence then contrasts that with a bassline that sounds much more hiphop than the cadence. The lyrics masterfully tell a story while still sounding good and keeping its upbeat nature. The whole song until the end talks about Mac going to parties with a girl and how she keeps trying to take his hat, until towards the end of the song when he says, “I think she stole it though I keep trying to reach her ” telling us that he got ghosted by her. I like this song so much because it tells a whole story with the song.
If you enjoy Kanye or any other spoken word rapper, I think you would enjoy this whole mixtape. This mixtape is different from most rap now because you can hear every word he’s saying and that helps you feel how the artist wants you to feel. Rather than the album putting on a fast loud beat to make you feel excited, it uses the lyrics to make you feel whatever emotion he wants you to feel.
Overall rating: 8/10
