The Dark Side of Mac Miller's Faces 

Listening this album and knowing Mac was only 22 is absolutely crazy.

I have heard this mixtape a thousand times at this point, and the "Inside Outside" just does it for me every single time. To this day I get goosebumps when I start the tape.

“I inherited the taste for self destruction and im scared of it” shit gets me everytime I’m in the same boat unfortunately, this tape is such a masterpiece

The line “Mixing uppers and downers, practically suicide” is such a bar. In that yes, it is practically suicide but also the second meaning of suicides in a basketball gym when you have to run up and down the court for cardio.

This album saved me during a hard time. Favourite track... Too many to pick one. But that line on Grand Finale never leaves me: "I fear nothing on this odyssey of dark roads, God lives in my dog's soul, the devil in his dog bowl".

Favorite track is definitely happy birthday. That second verse where he really starts questioning things always gets me in an introspective mood.

26 and fighting hard against anxiety and depression, I got everything some people would want but still struggle with being happy. It‘s so crazy how perfect Mac puts these feelings into words. (Update for anybody who cares: try wim hof especially the cold water treatment it worked wonders for me)

You know you are dealing with a start to finish masterpiece when you look at the comment section and see that everyone seems to have a different fave off the album. Personally, I love the grand finale. But there isn’t a song that I can say is definitely better than the rest

I gotta say “new faces,” is one of Mac’s best verses. He flows so good on it, and that whole album is a masterpiece.

The whole album is like going through a lifetime. It's an amazing concept. He touches on all parts of life. Addiction love, depression, joy. It's all there.

"Forever I melt, and float away like waves in the ocean." Funeral will forever be my favorite song off Faces, and one of my favorite songs in general. It's so heartbreaking but beautiful at the same time.

Ever since it came out, Color and Shapes has been my most listened song on Faces. It never fails to bring me into another world and just relax my soul.

Picking a single track is so difficult this has been my favorite project of all time ever since I first heard it. If I had to pick a favorite it would probably be funeral. I love how Mac talks about his insecurity, isolation, and his feeling that his downfall was ironically led to creating his best work. I think the song is so dark and beautiful which comes together to make an absolutely amazing song.

Honestly every single track is my favorite, this project came out then I lost my mother two months later. This project truly saved me.

I listened to Faces for the first time about 3 years ago with my older cousin, who got me into Mac. I was in a dark place and Mac was still alive at the time, the lyrics fascinated me because I struggled a lot with expressing myself and getting help with what I was dealing. One night it got very bad and I was listening to the mixtape locked in my room with no lights. When the song “friends” came around it blew my mind cuz I started really listening to the lyrics and was shocked and amazed on how a human being can paint pictures with words about his addictions, struggles, dark thoughts and everything he was dealing with. It felt like I was letting of everything that I was dealing with thru his lyrics. This mixtape is why I started to rap and produce. It made fall in love with the art of hip hop and with Mac’s music even more. Most Dope forever.

“Spent all my cash on a broken dream, went from weed and liquor to the coke and lean” especially the first line, was a prolific way of saying as the drugs have gotten harder, they haven’t gotten him to stay in a positive mental state.

My favorite track off of Faces is Funeral. Not only is the beat fantastic but it really makes you reflect on your own memories and experiences. I’ve always had an eye for existentialism and the cycle of life/death. I like every track equally so it’s not necessarily my favorite but definitely beautiful. This project is currently getting me through my declining mental state and I’ve already faced the fact that I’m gonna be numb whether I like it or not. The universe really aligned for me with this one as I started listening to it again in august and it just came out as an album. Rest In Peace Mac. One of the most underrated artists of all time. Don’t fit on nobody’s playlist.

I was 16 when this first came out on soundcloud and i remember how fucked up i was on drugs and how this album helped me express my thoughts and feel less alone because of how relatable the lyrics are. Im 24 now and I still listen to this all the time and i reflect on the moments in my teen years how much this album has effected me, my favorite tracks are here we go and apparition.

Wedding has always been a favorite for me. I love it because I can relate to what Mac says, but it makes me think about my past with an ex of 6 years. We loved each other and were best friends, but struggled at times because of our vices, which eventually led to our split. Wedding reminds me of good times and bad times. Moments spent staring into each other’s eyes lovingly, and moments spent screaming at each other, wishing we could go back in time and redo things. “I know I make you hurt, "Sorry" is my favorite word I don't deserve your trust, but can we make it work? I hate to end the story, can we wait until the morning to decide on it? Spend this time pretendin' it was that first summer We was pure lovers”

Faces is my favorite project ever made, I’ve had it downloaded for years now and listen to it daily. It’s Insanely hard to pick a favorite track but I’m narrowing it down to two, Diablo and Grand Finale. Amidst all the darkness in Mac’s life he still shows how he’s the coldest mf in Diablo with the lines “the bottom barrel of society, I tell my b**ch if she don’t love me then just lie to me” . In Grand Finale I love the first line “And if by chance this is my Grand Finale, bury me in Allegheny county” I moved to pittsburgh 3 years ago for school and Mac taught me to love the city, Going to the Mac celebration at blue slide park was so surreal and this city and Mac made me who i am today. I have to go with Grand Finale for the previous reason, and Mac is so self aware of his life and where it’s headed when he says “I’m a bit surprised that I’m even still alive, mixing uppers and downers practically suicide”. I get goosebumps every time I hear that song and sometimes get brought to tears when stuff is going on in my life. I’ve dealt with similar problems as Mac like addiction and not really know who you are in life, these songs remind me that I’m not the only one going through stuff, it’s nice to have someone to relate to. It keeps your head on straight. Grand Finale also shows me that even when you think you might be at the end you can always keep going just like Mac did when he left the sanctuary. Mac made life saving music, even if he didn’t know it at the time. Long live Mac 🤴🏻 Most Dope Forever ♾

this mixtape helped me through my depression back in 2014… can’t believe i’m 22 now and content with life getting to listen to this masterpiece again

Love this project so so much. "Here We Go" is probably my favorite for a lot of reasons, including Mac's iconic "I did it all without a Drake feature" line as well as the incredible intro.

it just doesn’t matter has to be one of my all time favorites of mac, the intro will always give me a super nostalgic feeling and macs voice is especially soothing in that song.

I love every track on Faces, but Funeral is the first one I found when I was going through some stuff a while back. I miss Mac dearly, he got me through so much and continues to do so even now that he's gone.

The dark “side” is a wild thing to title this when the entire project sounds like bouncing between deep rooted depression and moments of mania.

When this tape was originally dropped, I was feeling similar to mac, lost and trapped. This album made me not feel alone and actually get my shit together. It created a huge turning point in my life, and I’ll forever be greatful for it.

13:34 My favorite track off of this beautiful creation sent to us from Mac would definitely be “yeah-bonus”. I feel as if that song gives us a direct look at what constantly cicled through macs head. It is also a very different approach and sound as opposed to what mac usually sticks too, and it works perfectly.

I literally love every song on the mixtape, I’ll go through the whole thing front to back beginning to end. But the one song that really sits with me the most and gets me thinking is wedding, cause for the past 5 years up until recently I was with a girl who I truly believed I would propose to end up marrying one day. I was truly in love. Blinded by that love and would try and get passed all the pain that I went through. All the fights we had, all the tears and emotions I went through to try and make things work. After we split I listened to wedding and would literally cry in my car because of just how painful it was to remember all the good times we had together but trying to tell myself it couldn’t be saved cause of all the bad. And now I’ve just been going through a deep depression trying to make myself a happy again.

I think it’s always going to be “New Faces v2” - at least that’s what it’s called on the datpiff file I downloaded like five years ago now. The opening line “In 09 we still on the bus” reminds me of all the time I’ve spent getting to where I am; the time I will spend getting to what is next. Thank you for this video. It means a lot to me.

Grand Finale - I’m from Pittsburgh and love the Allegheny county reference. Also the Joe Namath reference about always being wasted. And mixing uppers and downers being suicide is yet another moment of clarity. Then the acceptance of his death at the end of the song about how it won’t be so bad and the world will go on

I listened to Faces for the first time almost a year ago, and at first i didnt really understand it and honestly, i didnt really like it. But, after 4-5 times of listening to it, once i really understood what the album was about, i loved it. Its is one of my favourite albums of Mac and i think one of the most important ones when it come to understanding the state of mind of Mac while going through addiction. This video is amazing and youve done a great job at explaining the album and what it is all about. My favourite song out of Faces is probably Wedding!! Not only his voice is very pure through the song in a very beautiful tone but, i really like how he both talks about a girl and himself going throught a relationship mentioning both the good and bad. A lot of songs like that can also be seen as way from the artist to talk about addiction with the drug being the ''girl'', and in an album like Faces it is very easy to look at it that way as well, just like Objects In The Mirror. However, Wedding is a sweet song when comparing it with songs like Apparition, where Mac uses a very trippy music and sings in a very emotional way with his voice cracking, talking about religion and addiction at the same time. He also says how he keeps on "dancing" which can be seen as using... Thank you so much for reading this and thank you for making this video, this album is just, a masterpiece. 92 till infinity and beyond!

The 4 track run of Happy Birthday, Wedding, Funeral and then finally Diablo will forever be my favorite segment of this album. Everything about those tracks and how they connect to each other and the tape as a whole just hits me different. I'll always have a special place in my heart for Here We Go as well.

Colors & shapes gave a feeling that I could only remember having as a kid

My favorite track is Malibu. Its just so trippy and i love the story that he tells through it. the instrumental is crazy with that organ and the bass. Takes me to another world hahaha

“Im getting bread, yeast rise on easter, Money is God” absolutely one of the most powerful bars ever.. because its true

It’s really hard to stomach the line about how his tragedy will be his masterpiece, an artist like Kid Cudi has largely been able to come full circle from his lowest points especially on tracks like Reborn but Mac never had that chance he never got to make another masterpiece about beating his demons

I didn't know that "yeah" was a much older song and the first time I heard it was when they added it to spotify. When he starts yelling "am I alive" I got goosebumps. You can really feel the emotion in that song

Yeah (Bonus) fr fr is one of my top five favorite musical pieces of all time. Mac has and always will be my idol, someone who fought so hard to keep doing what he loves is something we should all follow. “Yeah” is a perfect song, ramping up and down perfectly balanced with the most fitting melancholy piano solo at the end too. We are all so lucky this project got fully mastered and officially released with the 25 songs. Rest easy Mac you deserve it ❤️

Huge huge Mac fan here since 2010. I love how Mac has always loved love, despite all his issues with depression and fame/drugs, he always showed it in all of his songs and even interviews that it’s cool to love. Wedding was one of those songs where you could hear the pain of how in love he is, despite how toxic their relationship is, he doesn’t want to lose her. It’s a hopeless romantic, can’t live without you, type of song that I will never get tired of hearing. I also think “yeah”, aka “8:21 am” is just one of his best songs ever. It’s hard to put into words, but when you listen to it I swear you can feel that he poured his whole heart and soul into that song. Gives me chills every time still

Love the editing and motion graphics in this one! Inspirational!

This was an incredible analysis, well done. Made me realize alot about the mixtape I hadn't already in the last 7 years!

Amazing analysis. Opened up my eyes to other aspects of the album I didn’t see before.

Very well done video, interesting concept! Love this tape!

This is dope. Great video man!

Listened to this tape so many times, I remember a time when my older brother was listening to Faces in the car, and I was just so captured, i wanted to know how to get a hold of the tape so i could listen to it later. Ever since then I’ve listened to it as much as possible. My favorite song is Friends, I love this song because it has been a staple of my life thus far, it just feels so real to me i feel like it showcases what Mac’s capabilities were to be able to have an incredibly elegant flow but still talk about stuff that he struggles with. 92’ til infinity

what a fantastic video man

this is one of the best videos i’ve ever seen. thank u sm

This video is amazing! Greatly put together and great voiceover 👍

Colors and shapes holds a very special spot in my heart. This entire album has always been my fav project by mac, possibly anyone for that matter. His music always came out at the exact right time I needed at those times in my life. RIP mac you are dearly missed

i literally stumbled upon this album when i had my first shroom trip it means so much to me now

What a amazing video man, keep this up dawg

Videos are always so well edited with the visuals, keep it up!

Favorite song is Therapy. It sounds so good/uplifting and confident. RIP MAC. Nice job on the video. It was well thought out and put together!

Ave Maria would probably be my favorite, that chorus is so chilling and the beat is amazing. Also really love Wedding, one of the most beautiful rap songs i've heard and it's heartbreaking to listen to nowadays. Great video btw man, i figured out some of the meaning on my own but you gave me a whole new understanding of the album, so thanks for that :)

This is a very well made video man, thank you so much for this

Great video and phenomenal mixtape. Thank you for your time on this brotha. Inside Outside

The amount of love I have for this amazing tape is indescribable, I'm currently in a very difficult time in my life I've recently moved states from where I had grown up I'm all alone in my thoughts, which I can relate to mac to in this album. I just always turn it on whenever its too much, it reminds me of everything ever the good, the bad, anything and everything all at once. This album just puts me to peace every time and I can't imagine where I would be without it. In the end of the video when grand finale came up I started crying, its just so beautiful my fav song I can't even choose a quote to use from the song its just so perfect. Anyways thank you mac for making this masterpiece and sleep well

For me, my favorite song has to be the bonus song "yeah" / 8:21 or whatever it was leaked as. The vocals are absolutely insanely impressive and passionate.

Absolutely amazing video bro

Wouldn’t have known this project without this video. It’s amazing! Thank you

It’s actually impossible to pick a favorite tracks, this is a monumental piece of work for Mac. So glad it’s on streaming services

My favorite track on Faces is “Grand Finale.” Let’s just start with the instrumental. There’s these nostalgic and deep feeling synth chords that chime in so brightly in the background of the track then get deeper in the following bars before looping back. I feel physical effects when those chords hit as if they’re sinking deep into my heart. I feel it with everything in me. Then the background sub-bass flirts with these chords and they work together perfectly. As a guitar player I love when Mac drops that guitar solo mid track with the guitar he’s said he will love and hold onto “until death do us part.” Behind the solo you have notes from a piano going up and down the scale as if they’re dancing with the guitar. The lyrics hit so deep I get emotional when listening to them. As said by himself, this is Mac Millers song that he left behind to give closure once he passes away. This song is the fireworks that send him into the great beyond. The addition of the fireworks that he loved as a kid are so nostalgically included in the background and it makes this song feel so special. Firework shows often have their grand finale obviously at the end of the show and this song literally goes ‘out with a bang.’ Are you ready for the fireworks? I can go on and on about the metaphors and deeper meanings to lyrics in this song but let’s just say this one is beautiful and is probably my favorite song of all time! By the way, your video is awesome and I thank you for making it. It really did Faces justice and I hope there are people who watched this video and got inspired to listen to faces all the way through. Definitely subscribing for more Thank you!

Thanks so much for making this video

This is a really thorough analysis of Faces - and a really well-made video. Great job

I cant hear grand finale and not start to cry almost as soon as his vocal starts. It was one of my favorite before he died, but after his passing, it took me well over a year to listen to it again. Its chilling in so many ways

Just got my vinyl in the mail today actually, though I love every single song on the mixtape my favorite song on here is rain feat Vince staples it reminds me of my brother and best friend who died at 17 due to gun violence may 8th of 2014 (go figure) so I was just in a really dark time in my life and Mac dropped this gem on my lap at the right time for all of us to have forever

What an incredible video with great analysis. Thank you for making this. Hopefully this video blows up! Most Dope

This is so well done! Thank you for this. Subscribed.

My favorite song would have to be grand finale “I fear nothing on this odyssey of dark roads” feels like a very eerie but full acceptance of fate, gives me chills every time

“The High school hopefuls all growing up to be cops, chasing after gangsters but they never find a g spot” so hard, such a bar

the quality of your videos are so good and your editing is insane. keep it up !!!!

beautiful video man !

Freinds is my 100% favorite track, it shows how dark the album it going to be without strictly telling you. He talks about washing himself with acid, the importance of friends in his life, drug use in the dopest quote "I'm in my spaceship, my face is so complacent."

My favorite line of all time to this day is “I fear nothing on this odyssey of dark roads. God lives in my dogs soul, the devil in his dog bowl”. Ever time I hear it it gives me chills. Every year for my birthday I have been listening to happy birthday

Absolutely brilliant content! You killed it! And thank you.

Well done video, I’ve been missing mac Miller, extra hard recently

I have Faces tattooed on my right forearm, along with the Swimming astronaut and the orange coat portrait of mac. Faces is my favorite project of all time by any artist. I listened to it the day it dropped on the way to Myrtle Beach. it was a 3 and a half hour drive that i started at about 1230 that night. By the time I made it to Insomniak, my brother and I realized we hadnt spoken in about an hour. It was an experience. All of that said, It Just Doesn't Matter is my favorite track stand alone while "Happy Birthday-Ava Maria" should be considered one of the most cohesive abstract commentaries on the existential side of life to ever be recorded. Also, Therapy is a close second behind It Just Doesn't Matter. awesome video.

I went through high school listening to this record and man has it been heavy on my life thank you mac

What a great video man, incredible job! My favourite song has to be Polo Jeans, flow just feels incredible and I love Earl's part!

Well done! This is also one of my favorite mix tapes from Mac, I know Diablo by heart. Never took such a deep dive into it. Keep it up!

My favourite is definitely Inside Outside, then Here We Go and probably Ave Maria or It Just Doesn't Matter.

To this day New Faces V2 will always be my most favorite song of all time. No song makes me feel the way that song does. I especially like how it touches on different topics: judging people, religion, etc. I was overjoyed to be able to get this album on vinyl. So appreciative of the re-release

videos was great man keep it up

This is such an amazing breakdown dude. Thank you

my favorite track is rain. Vince staples sounds hungry talking about how he grew up and how he became the person he is now due to all the things that happened to him. When Mac comes in thinking about a lot of things that have impacted him and how they have pushed him to the brink of self destruction. add the end the pain mixed with the rain resembles everything they’ve been through.

My favorite track in faces has to Funeral, death as we know it is inevitable we all will meet death at some point in life. The reason this track holds a spot in my heart is because I’m 2014 my life had shifted from beautiful perspective of innocence from a child to a dark realization that life can get really ugly sometimes. I was 12 at the time when this mixtape came out and for a 12 year old to deeply feel a connection in the lyrics isn’t a good thing mentally and emotionally. I went from being a kid who was sure that tomorrow was certain like every kid you aren’t worried about the past and future your just to focused on living. Just like the álbum kids i was just focused on having fun and enjoying life but when faces came out and that point in life I felt like it couldn’t be perfect timing the songs just fit every thought I was having on drugs and the next morning waking up fuck up thinking will this be the last day, it wasn’t like a cry for help or attention it was more like a transition from noticing that your just a beautiful mess we have a dark side of our selves we haven’t met. Only difference is Mac took us on his journey through this mind. Knowing this means you can do it too start writing a book, or music or even painting art lies within what the eye Perceives, who knows a different form of faces might come out from your journey through your own mind I’m glad I witnessed Macs.

Amazing review, I loved this video. Gave me some new insight on a project I love. Thank you.

incredibly well done essay, concise thoughts that are executed well. this is absolutely one of my favorite projects not just by mac but in general it tells a story i relate to almost too well and close eerie to listen to the first time and holds even more weight with current context. thank you for explaining it in a way that gave it its full credit

My favorite track is apparition. The beat is easily one of his best, with a sound like that of an old clock. His wordplay is also very clever, and he progresses the song with such ease that it has to be one of my favorite mac songs

My favorite track off faces is Diablo. One of the first Mac tracks I heard and what got me hooked on him. I also love the sample on the track

This was an amazingly well put together video bro damn

This video was really well put together. RIP Mac

New Faces V2 is my favorite. I feel as though all three of their verses are ways that I’ve felt at different times. The thoughts that I can’t decipher put into words for me.

This album was the only bright spot in my year. Mac is saving life’s especially mine

Beautiful video! You deserve more than 11k subs!!!

Incredible tribute to Mac and awesome editing 🙏🏻 Much love

IF I HAD TO PICK IT DEFINITELY BE “WHAT DO YOU DO.” The tambourine, the back and forth. The beginning of his verse, “The p***y like trouble cause I’m in it often.” It was the beginning of the change in the album for me. I was going through so much. Making that sandwich. Seeing him in SF when he finished GO:OD AM. Being aware of his passing. No longer lil Mac. Let me off at the top. We can keep riding for now. RIP to a King.

I can't pick a favorite man I just love this whole mixtape I put my top three though 1. Therapy that beat is so uplifting I love the switch up to it I love is rhymes 2. Here we go I love those horns I feel like I should put that on my ringtone or my ⏰ beautiful track 3. I play Grand finale every 4th of July of years I love the hook it's dark but I love it it's just showing the light of dark and I love the video that he did the behind the scenes it looks like he was about to cry because he put the passion into his music rest in peace Mac Miller and everybody who listens to faces know what you dealing with cuz you can face the consequences to your health and body this album helped me through my hard times I got to do it thank you Mac Miller the legend the goat

You just earned yourself a subscriber, great video!

Thank you for giving us such an in-depth video about one of my favourite albums 💜