Blue Slide Park

Blue Slide Park
Studio album by Mac Miller
Released	November 8, 2011[1]
Recorded	2010–11 Rostrum Records Studio I.D. Labs Studio (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
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
Mac Miller chronology
I Love Life, Thank You (2011)I Love Life, Thank You2011 Blue Slide Park (2011) Macadelic (2012)Macadelic2012
Singles from Blue Slide Park
"Frick Park Market" Released: August 18, 2011 "Party on Fifth Ave." Released: October 28, 2011 "Up All Night" Released: December 13, 2011 "Missed Calls" Released: June 22, 2012

Blue Slide Park is the debut studio album by American rapper Mac Miller. It was released on November 8, 2011, by Rostrum Records.^[2][3] In July 2011, the title was announced in which the album was named, after a section of Frick Park (which was known as Blue Slide Park) in Pittsburgh. The park section is at the corner of Beechwood Blvd and Nicholson Street, which is just two blocks from Taylor Allderdice High School where Miller attended. The album cover was designed by his older brother Miller McCormick and Redtape Design.

Promotion

On July 5, 2011, Mac Miller announced the name of Blue Slide Park on his YouTube page. On August 22, Mac Miller announced via Twitter, the first single "Frick Park Market" which was to 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 22 million views.^[4] The song has also debuted at number 60 on the US Billboard Hot 100.^[5] Mac Miller announced there will be no guest appearances on the album. Smile Back was released on September 23.^[6] The title track, "Blue Slide Park", was released October 13. Mac Miller had said the track would be released once he received 25,000 pre-orders, which he did on October 13.^[7] On October 21, Mac Miller held a private listening session for NYC journalists to the album, receiving positive reviews.^[8] At 11:20 pm Eastern Time, Mac Miller announced via Twitter, Blue Slide Park was in fact available on iTunes 40 minutes earlier than the previously set midnight release.

Singles

The album's first single, "Frick Park Market" which it was produced by I.D. Labs. It was officially released on August 18, 2011. The song has reached at number 60 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. At the time this was Mac Miller's highest charting single, beating "Donald Trump" which charted at number 75.

The album's second single, "Party on Fifth Ave." which it was produced by I.D. Labs. It was released on October 28, 2011. The song débuted at number 64. Following the album's release, and chart success the track "Smile Back" became Mac Miller's highest-charting song to date by reaching number 55 on the Billboard Hot 100, despite not being released as an official single.^[9]

The album's third single, "Up All Night" was released digitally via iTunes on November 15, 2011. The song peaked at number 123.^[10] It was officially released on December 13, 2011.

The album's fourth single, "Missed Calls" which it was produced by Ritz Reynolds. It was officially released on June 22, 2012.^[11] The music video was released on July 31, 2012.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	58/100[12]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllHipHop	6.5/10[13]
AllMusic	[14]
HipHopDX	[15]
Pitchfork Media	1.0/10[16]
RapReviews.com	6/10[17]
Rolling Stone	[18]
Spin	4/10[19]
XXL	3/5 (L)[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 12 articles) which indicates "mixed or average reviews".^[12] 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".^[13] XXL viewed the album's production more positively, but noted that Miller still has "room to evolve".^[20] Jordan Sargent of Pitchfork Media gave the album a 1.0 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."^[16]

Commercial performance

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 (1995).^[21] The next week it fell to #24; it is the sixth-largest drop from #1, tied with Michael Bublé's 2011 Christmas album. As of August 2012, the album has sold 344,000 copies.^[22] In Canada, the album debuted at number 8.^[23]

Track listing

• On some physical copies of the album a 17th song, "Donald Trump", is incorrectly listed as a bonus track on the reverse cover track listing. Miller confirmed via his official Twitter page that this was due to a factory error and that the album would contain 16 new songs.

Tour

Europe – The Incredibly Dope Tour

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 4, making up four dates in London, Manchester, Birmingham, and Glasgow.^[24] The tour also extended to mainland Europe, beginning in Amsterdam on September 6.^[25] 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.^[26] He also performed at The National and other famous venus.

United States – Blue Slide Park Tour

Mac Miller's tour of the United States ran 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 was on December 9 with Miller performing in his hometown of Pittsburgh.^[27]

Charts

References