| Blue Slide Park | ||
|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Mac Miller | ||
| Released | November 8, 2011[1] | |
| Recorded | 2010-2011 Rostrum Records Studio I.D. Labs Studio (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) |
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| Genre | Hip Hop | |
| Length | 45:49 | |
| Label | Rostrum | |
| Producer | Benjy Grinberg (exec.), I.D. Labs, Ritz Reynolds, Clams Casino, Young L, Mansions on the Moon, Mac Miller | |
| Singles from Blue Slide Park | ||
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Blue Slide Park is the debut studio album by American rapper Mac Miller. The title was announced in July 2011, and was released on November 8, 2011.[2][3] The album is named after a section of Frick Park known as Blue Slide Park in Pittsburgh. The park section is at the corner of Beechwood Blvd, and Nicholson Street, just two blocks from Allderdice High School where Miller attended. The album cover was designed by his older brother Miller McCormick, and Redtape Design.
Contents |
On July 5, 2011, Mac Miller announced the name of Blue Slide Park on his YouTube page. On August 22, Mac Miller confirmed via Twitter the first single, "Frick Park Market," would be released on August 18 at 18:00 PM Eastern Time along with a music video. Since the video's release, it has reached over 13 million views.[4] The song has also debuted at number sixty on the US Billboard Hot 100.[5] Mac Miller has confirmed that there are no guest appearances on the album. Smile Back was released September 23rd.[6] The title track, Blue Slide Park, was released October 13th. Mac Miller had said the track would be released once he received 25,000 pre-orders, which he did on October 13th.[7] On October 21st, Mac Miller held a private listening session for NYC journalists to preview the album, receiving positive reviews At 11:20 PM Eastern Time, Mac Miller announced via Twitter that Blue Slide Park was in fact available on iTunes forty minutes earlier than the previously set midnight release.
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 58/100[8] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllHipHop | (6.5/10)[9] |
| Allmusic | [10] |
| ThisBeatGoes | [11] |
| DJ Booth | [12] |
| HipHopDX | [13] |
| Ology | [14] |
| Pitchfork Media | (1/10)[15] |
| SOHH | (7/10)[16] |
| Spin | (4/10)[17] |
| XXL | (L)[18] |
| 411mania | (6/10)[19] |
| RapReviews | (6/10)[20] |
Blue Slide Park received generally mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, a site that calculates an aggregate score based on a number of professional reviews, the album has received a score of 58/100 (based on 8 articles) which indicates "mixed or average reviews".[21] Jon Garcia of AllHipHop.com gave the album a rating of 6.5 out of 10, criticising the production and claiming that "it's as if he hasn't found his sound yet". XXL viewed the album's production more positively, but noted that Miller still has "room to evolve". Jordan Sargent of Pitchfork Media gave the album a 1 out of 10 rating and wrote "Miller's world is a hermetic one, and unless it's one you inhabit, the album holds no appeal."[15]
In an interview with Rolling Stone, rapper Danny Brown said of the album, "[Mac Miller]’s the worst guy around. Don’t get me started. His album cover is like, 'Ugh, what is this?' He’s trying to be artistic, huh?" [22]
Blue Slide Park debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart with 145,000 copies sold in its first week, making it the first independently-distributed debut album to top the chart since Tha Dogg Pound's Dogg Food in 1995.[23] In Canada, the album debuted at number eight.[24] The next week, the album dropped down to number twenty-four, selling 25,000 copies. As of December 4, 2011, the album has currently sold 194,000 copies.[25]
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Albums Chart[26] | 8 |
| US Billboard 200[27] | 1 |
| US Billboard Digital Albums | 1 |
| US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums | 1 |
| US Billboard Top Rap Albums | 1 |
| US Billboard Independent Albums | 1 |
The album's first single, "Frick Park Market", reached number sixty in the Billboard Hot 100 chart. At the time this was Mac Miller's highest charting single, beating "Donald Trump" that charted at number eighty. The second single, "Party on Fifth Ave." débuted at number sixty-four. Following the album's release, and chart success the track "Smile Back" became Mac Miller's highest-charting song to date by reaching number fifty-five on the Billboard Hot 100, despite not being released as an official single.[28]
| No. | Title | Music | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "English Lane" | Dominic Angelella, Malcolm McCormick | Ritz Reynolds | 1:35 |
| 2. | "Blue Slide Park" | Eric Dan, Jeremy Kulousek, McCormick | I.D. Labs | 2:25 |
| 3. | "Party on Fifth Ave." | Dan, Kulousek, McCormick | I.D. Labs | 2:53 |
| 4. | "PA Nights" | Benjamin Hazlegrove, McCormick, William Lane Shaw | Mansions on the Moon | 3:04 |
| 5. | "Frick Park Market" | Dan, Kulousek, McCormick | I.D. Labs | 3:17 |
| 6. | "Smile Back" | Dan, Kulousek, McCormick | I.D. Labs | 2:44 |
| 7. | "Under the Weather" | Dan, Kulousek, McCormick | I.D. Labs | 4:21 |
| 8. | "Of the Soul" | Dan, Kulousek, McCormick | I.D. Labs | 3:28 |
| 9. | "My Team" | McCormick, Michael Volpe | Clams Casino | 2:23 |
| 10. | "Up All Night" | Dan, Kulousek, McCormick | Mac Miller, I.D. Labs | 3:29 |
| 11. | "Loitering" | Dan, McCormick, Lloyd Ohmedhebo | Young L, I.D. Labs | 3:11 |
| 12. | "Hole in My Pocket" | Angelella, McCormick | Ritz Reynolds | 0:36 |
| 13. | "Diamonds & Gold" | Dan, Kulousek, McCormick | I.D. Labs | 3:20 |
| 14. | "Missed Calls" | McCormick | Ritz Reynolds | 2:58 |
| 15. | "Man in the Hat" | Dan, McCormick | Ritz Reynolds, I.D. Labs | 3:17 |
| 16. | "One Last Thing" | McCormick, Volpe | Clams Casino | 2:59 |
Mac Miller toured Europe in early September 2011 to promote the album. The United Kingdom leg of The Incredibly Dope Tour ran from September 1 to September 4, making up four dates in London, Manchester, Birmingham, and Glasgow.[29] The tour also extended to mainland Europe, beginning in Amsterdam on September 6.[30] Two dates in Paris were also announced, as well as Opwijk before Mac's return to the United States to perform at the 2011 edition of Rock the Bells in Boston. Later dates also saw Mac Miller performing in Germany, and Scandinavia.[31] He also performed at The National and other famous venus.
Mac Miller's tour of the United States is set to run from September to December 2011. The Blue Slide Park Tour began on September 22, 2011 at the Irving Plaza in Manhattan, New York City. The final date on December 9 will see Miller performing back in his hometown of Pittsburgh.[32]
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