Mac Miller’s spirit remains strong, even six years after his tragic death. Fans of his can now enjoy more unreleased music, courtesy of the late artist, in the form of “The Quest” after the track finally made its way onto streaming platforms on Friday (March 22).
Fans may be familiar with “The Quest,” as the song was first released on the 10th anniversary vinyl of Miller’s Watching Movies With the Sound Off last year. Produced by the rapper, “The Quest” interpolates the his oft-collaborator Jon Brion’s track “Phone Call.” Brion and Miller partnered on the Pittsburgh MC’s final albums, including the Grammy-nominated project Swimming and the MC’s posthumous release Circles.
“I have this memory of him being really sweet, and he happened to mention that he really liked the music of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” recalled Brion in a 2020 piece with Vulture. “I was like, ‘Oh, that’s cool. That’s really nice.’ And honestly, it didn’t go a lot further than that.”
While “The Quest” will quench the thirst for new music from Miller — who died in 2018 from an accidental overdose — questions still loom regarding his collaborative album with Madlib. Last year, during the elusive producer’s interview with Sway in the Morning, Madlib revealed his upcoming projects, which included the long-awaited joint effort with Miller. “Right now, I’m finishing up the Mac Miller album, the Planet Asia album and the Erykah Badu album,” he said at the time.
Dubbed Maclib, Miller’s former producer Thelonious Martin told DJ Booth in 2019 that the album was ready to go between the two forces after hearing it during a studio session.
“[Madlib] just randomly plays a Mac Miller joint. And I turn to him, I’m like, ‘There’s more of these, right?’ He’s said, ‘Oh, yeah, there’s a whole album. Maclib,’” Martin said at the time. “If Madlib decides to bless the world with that project, he should.”
Listen to “The Quest” below.
