Mac Miller’s untimely passing in 2018 left a gaping hole in the creative circuit, but his music never went out of rotation — and the numbers are a testament to his longevity.
On Wednesday (June 7), the Pittsburgh native’s final studio album before his death, Swimming, was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), commemorating two million units sold in the U.S.
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Two years prior, in February 2021, the project was certified platinum for the first time, making it Mac’s first body of work to reach that status.
Additionally, “Self Care” from the same album has also been certified 5x platinum. This is another milestone for the Most Dope MC, whose highest-certified song until recently was the 4x-platinum Miguel collaboration, “Weekend,” from 2015’s GO:OD AM.
Blue Slide Park (2011), Watching Movies With the Sound Off (2013), GO:OD AM (2015) and the posthumous Circles (2020) are all currently gold records.
Swimming dropped in August 2018, a month before Mac Miller (Malcolm McCormick) passed away from an accidental drug overdose. Often considered to be his greatest body of work, it was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards the year after its release.
Though he isn’t here to witness his art reach new heights, the rapper, singer and producer’s memory continues to persist through his music. Jon Brion, who worked on Swimming, was asked by Mac’s estate to help finish the album he had been working on at the time of his passing. In 2020, Circles was released to critical acclaim.
It debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and became Mac’s biggest sales week for an album, opening with 164,000 units. Its only promotional single, “Good News,” went on to become his highest-charting track as a lead artist, peaking at No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In the years following his departure, Mac’s family has handled his legacy with a great deal of care and sensitivity. His 2014 mixtape, Faces, was finally released on streaming platforms in 2021 after its samples were cleared.
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As for the future, new music from the “Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza” rapper is always a possibility considering he left enough material in the vault for a lifetime. After featuring Mac on his Liberation 2 album with Talib Kweli, Madlib revealed earlier this year that he’s adding finishing touches to the long-lost Maclib project.
“Right now, I’m finishing up the Mac Miller album,” the veteran producer said during an interview on Sway in the Morning. He also confirmed that it is the same project that was reported years ago and the late rapper’s estate has now given him the thumbs up to finally release it.
