by Dan Thompson

Blue Slide Park is the newest masterpiece by Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller.  This album is the first full length that Miller has put out, so far.  After hearing this album, great things are expected for Mac in the future.  Blue Slide Park is the best thing to come out of Pittsburgh since Primanti Brothers, and Kennywood.   There was a lot of hype for the release of this album, even the name of the album was a big deal to be released early.  Miller tweeted that if he got so many followers he would announce the name of the debut album early.  Within the next few days the number of followers on Twitter was met and Miller kept his promise of releasing the name Blue Slide Park.  The name of the album was inspired by a blue slide in a park in Squirrel Hill that kids ride down on cardboard boxes.  Songs such as “Diamonds and Gold”, “PA Nights”, and “Loitering” are the epitome of the album.  With their smooth flow and experimental beats and lyrics, these songs are soon to be hits.  But on the other hand, every great album comes with a few flaws in them.  Not all the songs are perfect, “English Lane”, and the title track “Blue Slide Park” do not meet the expectations the rest of the album does.  Even though there are some bad songs, these songs do not, however, affect the full album itself in the long run.  With these certain songs in mind, Millers album still debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart selling 148,915 copies just in the first week of being released.  This gives Miller the satisfaction of having the first independently distributed debut album start at number one since Tha Dogg Pound in 1995. Blue Slide Park is also the second indie distributed album to start at number one since Cake’s Showroom of Compassion.  These are both very prestigious achievements for someone like Miller with such little exposure to the mainstream scene, especially with competing albums such as Wale’s Ambition, and Drake’s Take Care.  Miller also has three different music videos for songs on Blue Slide Park; the songs are “Party On Fifth Ave”, “Smile Back”, and “Frick Park Market”.  In these videos Miller is portrayed as an old man, a mad scientist and a con artist.  These may be his multiple personalities, or maybe just his imagination going its hardest.