Image by ROBIN MARCHANT/GETTY IMAGES //

Huge news for Mac fans.

The estate of late rapper Mac Miller has given its approval for the release of a long-awaited EP produced by Madlib. The news was confirmed during an appearance by the producer and DJ on Sway In The Morning (see below) where he was promoting his new joint album with Talib Kweli, Liberation 2.

“Right now, I’m finishing up the Mac Miller album, Planet Asia album, Erykah Badu album, different stuff,” Madlib said. “[Erykah and I] just started on an album…We have a lot of unreleased stuff.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcE40jv5-zM

The EP, which has been nicknamed “Maclib,” was first mentioned in 2019 by producer Thelonious Martin in an interview with DJBooth. Madlib later confirmed that the project was real but that there were no immediate plans to release it. According to a now-deleted statement by Madlib, Miller and Madlib began working together after the late rapper recorded a verse for Freddie Gibbs and Madlib’s Piñata album. Miller would then send the songs back to Madlib, who would often play them during his live DJ sets. Clips of those songs circulated online but are no longer available.

Miller’s estate posthumously released Circles in 2020, his first posthumous release since his death in 2018, the EP with Madlib will be the second posthumous release. Miller also appears on Liberation 2 alongside Q-Tip, Westside Gunn, Roy Ayers, and Jamie Branch. A release date for the EP has not yet been announced.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4BFGSZ_1ls