Mac Miller is one of several rappers that deeply confound me. I mean, just a few years ago, It was pretty easy to just ignore him. He was an act that teen girls always got really excited about. Back then I probably associated him with that idiotic Donald Trump song. Now (perhaps out of nowhere, or perhaps because I’ve just kind of ignored the guy) he drops an album featuring Earl Sweatshirt, Tyler the Creator, Schoolboy Q, Action Bronson…basically a ton of really talented and somewhat underground rappers.

I gave Blue Side Park a listen when it came out, and I found myself rather unimpressed. The production was OK, but Miller himself tends to stick to a monotone delivery that just kind of aggravates me. He also has a tendency to play with words sporadically, but what he’s saying never carries any weight. I was hoping, with all these features from proven lyricists, that he’d improve a bit as a rapper on Watching Movies With the Sound Off. Nope.

My biggest problem with this album, just like every other Miller project I’ve bothered to look into, is Miller himself. I can’t deny that he has some taste (Which I’ll get to). But he constantly puts himself with musicians that only accent how mediocre Miller is as a rapper. Miller relies almost entirely on a laid back and collected flow. Sometimes he does bring a slight variant to the style (like on the hilariously ignorant Goosebumpz), but for the most part his flow doesn’t change. Even worse than his flow’s tendency to switch into monotony is his bland delivery. Throughout the tape, Mac Miller just comes across as disinterested and bored. The guy puts the same lack of soul and effort into tracks that are supposed to be powerful (Like the missed-opportunity REMember or the painfully generic Youforia) as he does on tracks where he raps about smoking weed and having sex…which he does a lot. Plus, there’s no sense of lyrical creativity on much of the album. I mean, can someone tell him that Danny Brown did basically the same thing Miller did on Birdcall two years ago on Monopoly?

When Miller isn’t rapping, he’s delivering half sung hooks. The hooks on this album are probably some of the worst hooks I’ve heard on a Hip-Hop album this year. Miller delivers them with the same lazy lack of gravitas that permeates the rest of his music. Not one hook (Save the ignorant Goosebumpz) sounds different from another. It’s terrible. Miller tries for several catchy moments throughout the album, and a heavy majority of these attempts just fall flat on their faces.

What really saddens me about this album is that Miller brings in a hugely talented base of collaborators, but he completely underutilized them. Aside from shining moments of hope from Ab-Soul and Action Bronson (and Jay Electronica, depending on how I’m feeling), the guests and producers kind of sank into Miller’s bland quicksand. Schoolboy Q drops a sadly underwhelming verse, and Earl and Tyler bring serviceable yet forgettable contributions to the table (Thought it’s nice to note that Tyler is continuing to experiment with new production styles on OK).

Something else that makes Watching Movies With the Sound Off a mind-boggling bummer is the fact that, despite the plethora of great producers brought in, none of them can save some of the songs they’re on. Flying Lotus is one of the most creative producers around today, but his beat on S.D.S. feels kind of generic and uninspired. Plus, while I love Clams Casino, his contribution on tracks like Youforia and Bird Call feel like retreads…retreads that can’t save the mediocre songs they’re supporting. Alchemist and Pharrell bring some of the best beats to the table, but they don’t hold a candle to some of their finer work. The only beat I really liked on here, surprisingly, was the Tyler beat on OK. It wasn’t brilliant, but at least it tried something different.

Watching Movies With the Sound Off isn’t necessarily an excruciating listen. While there are some moments that are unbearable, most of it is at least tolerable. And there are some songs that manage to overcome the problems that bring the album down. As I said before, Red Dot Music has some ok production and a really nice Action Bronson feature. Ab-Soul practically saves Matches from being completely mediocre. Plus there are moments where Miller does get somewhere lyrically (He gets there on I Am Who I Am). What this album needed was more of these moments, and less of Miller’s unnecessary self-indulgence.

Summary: Watching Movies With the Sound Off just reaffirms Miller as rather bland rapper who relies too much on mediocre hooks and barely interesting subject matter. It also doesn’t help that the collaborators are surprisingly weak.

Choice Cuts: Goosebumpz, OK, Red Dot Music

Leftovers: Youforia, Goes, Watching Movies

1.5/5

Watching Movies With the Sound Off is out now on Rostrum Records.

What’s your opinion on Watching Movies With the Sound Off? Is Mac Miller a fresh Hip-Hop sensation or just someone who can make an OK pop song…or is he an overrated and mediocre rapper? Also, what do you think I should review next?