Clams Casino: Moon Trip Radio Album Review | Pitchfork

Listen to KLO7D BØY by angry youth on #SoundCloud https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/Xbd6o

EDIT: just realized Clams Casino produced NITROUS. That explains it haha

Every song he touched & made, druggy cloud beat, has a high sense of genius. He created the path to many producers and don’t get the recognition he deserves. Not every beat has turned into the mainstream market, and maybe that’s why he never got to that turning point in his career.
Don’t get me wrong here, Flacko’s totally capable of doing masterpieces without the help of Clams Casino. But the gems created by him are abundant, and his discography is way beyond other mainstream producers have ever made.
Try to think about Live Love A$AP without Clams beat on it. Impossible. His debut mixtape wouldn’t be the same.

An interview with Nicolas Pellion aka Pure Baking Soda, most likely to be the best french-speaking rap storyteller and part of this story that went everywhere on the web: the quite spontaneous boom of young harlemite A$AP Rocky, his machiavellian manager and a series of dirty tricks. Kind of an insight amongst cannibal piranhas and food for thought regarding the illusion of Internet as a development tool for music artists.
First time you hear about A$AP Rocky ?
First time I hear a song from A$AP Rocky, I believe it was January, 2011, Been Around The World. To be honest, I don’t remember what I thought about it back then at all. Today I think it’s a good tune but at that time I didn’t especially dig it. It came to me as a guy named Eastsidestevie had posted it on his blog Realniggatumblr.
Loading video That Tumblr is a true monument of Internet-Rap history. This guy used to scan his old Rap magazines, like XXL and more, brightening it up with stories you couldn’t read anywhere else. This concept was already really dope, but in addition to that, he had a great taste, made no compromise and had a strong sense of humor… It was thrilling, funny, harsh… Now the blog has been deleted and I hope that someone comes out someday saying he printed it all, as I believe it’s one of the best rap blog ever, if not THE best.
4 months later, between some Max B & Cam’Ron’s stories, some rare Prodigy’s freestyles and vintage footages of Puff Daddy, EastSideStevie brings out a new A$AP Rocky joint: Purple Swag. It sounds like an MP3 rip, the song being uploaded on YouTube, with the guy’s picture as scenery.
Today everyone knows it… But at that time, hearing this out of nowhere, I was kind of stucked. Maybe it’d be good to re-establish the context: right now, in 2013, 90% of weak rappers with a lack of personality look after those stuff and try to do that kind of music. Yet back then it wasn’t « cool » again to rap as they do in Houston… and Houston was honestly kind of lifeless. People hadn’t heard neither of Lex Luger yet, nor those stuff that were going to be everywhere for the next 2 years, so running into Purple Swag was like being 2 years in the future of rap music… even though this track could totally be an unreleased from 2005 or 2006…
So it motivated me to dig into A$AP Rocky… I see he has nothing on datpiff, nothing on livemixtapes, in short he’s a no name. So I look into the hidden depths of the Internet… I eventually find some verses of him here and there and even a video. I rip the whole thing and make a little compilation out of it. For the record, I didn’t know how to rip audio from YouTube… and the one who helped me is « a_nos_mousse »… who’d be known as Soufien 3000 a few weeks later…
I ended up making a cover with Paint, uploading the compilation on the Internet and putting it on my blog.
So when is this compilation getting out of control ?
Once I put it online, the compilation spreads a bit… But it gets wider when Andrew Noz posts it on his Tumblr. He actually had run into Purple Swag on YouTube too, did the same thing I did, except he came across my compilation. At that time, it’s not that it gets « out of control » – as it doesn’t spread that much yet – something like 3 or 4 000 downloads, maybe less… But we’re now 2 or 3 talking about A$AP Rocky on the web, including Noz, a journalist who’s writing kind of everywhere… Enough to bring the attention of the artist himself, who probably begins to wonder « Damn, nobody knows me, I haven’t officially released anything yet but they’re talking about me on the web »… And that’s when EastSideStevie, with whom I had chatted sometimes in the past – sends me an email « to clarify the whole story around ASAP » he says.
What is it saying ? Are you the only one he talks about it with?
In this moment yeah, I believe I’m the only one he talks about it with. Roughly, he starts by telling me that Rocky is really touched by this compilation coming out of nowhere, punctuating every sentence like « no homo ». Even though there are some tracks he hates and he’d rather forget, like the one with Seth Narley. Then he tells me A$AP is a crew, him and Rocky kind of driving the whole thing. I remember he compared the both of ’em with Jim Jones & Cam’Ron in order to make me get it right.
Then, still in that same email, April, 2011, he tells me Rocky’s currently working on his album. That he’s been signed (a management deal I guess) on the company which manages Big KRIT and which is also in charge of Curren$y’s booking. He goes on saying they hope to drop the mixtape by summer, coming along with many videos, and that so far the project is being produced by The Olympicks, Big KRIT and their in-house producer… He says it will come out via clothing brand Supreme, which was about to sponsor them.
He eventually encloses a 11-track full A$AP Rocky project entitled « Mouth Full Of Gold », kind of a preview of what his 1st release would have been like. With some DJ Burn One, Olympicks & Ty Beats produced joints.
Then begins a long series of emails in which he explains to me the kind of strategy he has in mind.
A strategy consisting in what ?
Consisting in making Rocky blow up thanks to blog support, but not just any random blogs. In big letters, their manager is trying to model them to fit in with 2Dopeboyz/Nahright… The Get High video with Ferg, to me it was about that… And him, Stevie, he’s not into that, I mean not at all. So he tries to connect some other rappers and producers to reach a different audience. He starts namedropping all the folks with whom he plans to collaborate; it sounds like an All Star Game of what was critically acclaimed by all the « specialised » rap blogs at that time: Young L, Droop-E, Clams Casino producing… Main Attrakionz as well.
No more than a few days later, he manages to get Squadda B on a beat from a Norwegian, Cash Flow I think. This is the track which will become Underground King, a tribute to Pimp C in which he says he fucks the majors. I think it eventually came out on no project.
May/Jun 2011, except for the compilation I uploaded and which is still not spreading that much, you can’t find any of the songs online… But already some majors look for signing him. Such as Atlantic Records… These guys already offer them a fine contract – which I don’t know no detail about – but they refuse it. They won’t go in as Rocky’s album would have been directed by Wiz Kalifah’s A&R (Rolling Paper period) who wants to make them a pop product with an « overdose of wild homo guitars ».
Still aiming at seducing a certain audience, which I personally would consider as Realniggatumblr’s audience after all, Stevie tells me he wants to shoot a Purple Swag video… kind of a remake of Prodigy’s Mack 10 Handle.
In the meantime, he sends me over two new Clams Casino produced tracks: Palace & Wassup. As I begin to have a few tracks at hand, he says I can spread some of ’em, even make another compilation if I want to. So I put one or two more on my blog… And the rest of it I ask some Internet guys to listen to, some folks from the Music Industry as well, so I know how they feel about it.
Loading video So what do Internet and Industry people say ?
I bring the attention of something like 10 guys around those tracks, French and Belgian people only… All of ’em are really into it at first. ‘Must say the guy blows in with productions from all the current freshmen, period; it was gold at that time. Amongst them are some « behind the scenes » guys like Amaury Feron or Guillaume Berg, convinced that he has a bright future. Guillaume even reaches out Stevie and starts getting along with them, working a bit with them… On organising a European tour in particular, to make them come to Paris. I think early July, 2011, while the Purple Swag video hadn’t dropped yet and nobody had heard about them except for 15 Parisians and 2 Belgians, it’s already decided that Main Attrakionz & A$AP Rocky would do a gig in Paris in October.
So do they and you meet ’em for real this time ?
Not really… Even though everything had been planned, or nearly planned, with such things as Young Jeezy opening in Scandinavia if I remember well, this tour would actually never be. Because a lot of things happened between this early July and October.
Let me just go back, to Jun, 2011. First of all, Soufien enters the loop. One morning I receive a message from Stevie saying that I must listen to this beat from a French producer that Rocky will probably use… When I find out this French producer is… Soufien, whom I already knew, I’m laughing my ass off, as he hadn’t tell anyone. I think everybody knows how it happened, he sent over some beats on Facebook, etc, etc.
As they didn’t have that much contact with Soufien anymore, that’s me who recovers Acid Drip for him and I send it over via Twitter. If I remember well, we didn’t have Get Lit at that time and we weren’t sure whether those tracks would be on the tape or not, so we kept our mouths shut.
Then we meet SpaceGhostPurpp… The rest of Green Ova, etc… which leads the mixtape to be delayed again and again, ending up not looking at all like the original project (Mouth Full Of Gold).
End of May/early Jun, the Purple Swag video is already shot and they start making a new one for each track of the tape. Their idea is to do like Lil B in a way, having a new video each week during summer. And then, I don’t know what happens, they give up the video. Stevie asks me to remove all the songs I put online (Wassup, Peso, Diamonds), to delete quite a few other stuff and not to communicate anymore. I understand that things are happening faster for them. They go back and shoot another video for Purple Swag… they launch it early July on Realniggatumblr, my blog and a couple of more such as Yayodancing.
From now on, everybody knows what’s up, as they are « officially » out. First vid works very well but the one that will really be a hit is Peso. And as Deep Purple – the small compilation made of YouTube rips – is still the only Rocky project available out there, it’s being more and more downloaded, easily going over 100 000.
So now the majors start to quiver I guess…
I guess they do… As they were already in touch with labels before, plus the way things happened, I think their record deal with Sony was almost signed even before the new Purple Swag video came out. And that they just didn’t tell anyone. There were probably some details to be fixed, and the viral success those vids encountered probably helped in exaggerating some figures in the end… but to me it was already almost done before they went really « famous ».
About that, the so-called $3-million deal is not exactly the one that has been given to the general public, do you have some details ?
No I don’t. What I know, or what I believe I know, is that it was about 1,5M$ for A$AP Rocky as a solo artist, and 1,5M$ for A$AP Mob. Without even knowing what it exactly means. But I really don’t think they currently have 3M$ in their wallet…. Once again I don’t know the details as I never had to see this contract, but regarding this deal so many talked about… I’m not convinced that’s the best idea they had.
If their success is indeed « viral », which everything seems to demonstrate – hold by social networks, Tumblr, YouTube, etc. Roughly if they were as supported as indie artists as they seemed to be… It meant they already had a large audience and so they didn’t need that deal. By remaining independent, they would have got 100% of everything their music generates, from MP3 sales to YouTube ads, live tours or clothing brands in their case… When you have millions of views, in less than a month, on several of your videos… If you’re smart and if you’re able to handle it, a lot more money can go INTO YOUR POCKET rather than signing such a deal… Furthermore… your masters still belong to you. Now I’d bet everything you want that the music those guys are dropping, legally doesn’t belong to them no more.
Go ask Mac Miller or Macklemore what kind of money comes into their pocket at the end of the year. I’m 300% sure it’s ten times what the whole A$AP Mob crew is making all together. And they remain owners of their masters.
I think what made them sign is the promise of a relative « artistic freedom », roughly your albums will be just as you want it to be… Yeah, just the same as being indie right ?!
We get to this theory according which ain’t no such thing as a spontaneous boom in this new worldwide musical industry driven by the Internet, is that it ?
I personally hardly believe in some spontaneous boom happening on the web, yeah. Some folks – with just a video on YouTube, without having approached anyone first, without having a manager, etc… who’d sign a contract for several millions with a major label 5 weeks afterward, I believe that’s part of the stories that feed into marketing, also allowing musical journalists enabled to speak a word about music to have something to say.
But that’s not exactly what I wanted to highlight here. Thing is, for the US market, when you have a thrilled audience already existing, I doubt signing with a major is the best option. I believe Macklemore is now a role model in this field.
A$AP Rocky had everything under control so he could handle his career the same way, I’m sure he would have sold the same amount of albums and would have make more money… But that’s true they couldn’t have fronted like « Yo, we got a $3-million deal »… When it’s actually « Yo, I’m paying that percentage of what I earn to Mr. so-and so and my masters don’t belong to me no more »
By the way the guy who built that A$AP Rocky buzz – Stevie/Yams – has now been put aside, hasn’t he ?
Stevie became A$AP Yams indeed. He’s credited on both the album and mixtape as executive producer, so I think he’s still involved in the artistic choices. I guess he will also on the next A$AP Ferg album to be released.
I don’t know if he plays another role but this one today. He’s still with them, touring and shit. But for a few months he seems to be busier with some West Coast rappers. He manages them, advises them and helps them; thanks to the connections he developed during the A$AP Mob adventures. Like Joey Fatts for instance. But I don’t know more precisely.
Nowadays the few interactions I got with him go through a Facebook group we have, involving a bunch of guys who’ve been part of this story or close enough for the last 2/3 years.
From your point of view – as an industry insider – what is your feeling on this ? Bitterness ? Amusement ? Proud ? The three combined/none of that ?
No bitterness, I got no reason to feel this way. It was amusing on many aspects for sure. Especially when people here in France said I had « discovered » A$AP Rocky, based on some newspaper articles and these kinds of stupid stuff, when it was absolutely not true. Me being part of the equation or not wouldn’t change anything to the story I think. I used to receive dozens of emails as people thought I was their manager or something… It was funny.
In addition, the fact that I was there allowed me to meet people and connect. And this is always cool.
Do you believe that « Influential blogs » in rap music are necessarily manipulated by Stevielike guys?
Sometimes it’s not completely conscious or as well thought out as Stevie did, so I don’t know if we can talk about manipulation, but there are definitely some artists that are being helped by some blogs. It can be explained by friendliness. As artists eventually get closer with bloggers/journalists for instance. There is this one blog of a skating clothing brand, talking a lot about rap music; this is exactly what I’m saying… Rappers they highlight always have a small success thanks to their support… And after chatting here and there, I realised that it’s just a huge friendliness network. Neither the rappers nor the bloggers are completely aware of it.
And there’s also some quite vicious stuff. Here’s a funny one. I’m part of a Facebook group gathering almost all the American bloggers, something like 10 rappers and a bunch of producers… One day we asked ourselves, if we all started to praise somebody at the same time on our different websites, wrapping up the whole thing well, like taking a beat from that well-known producer, a featuring with this hot cat and shit… Would we succeed in making believe he’s dope ?
We took someone from the group who didn’t know how to rap, someone ghostwrited his lyrics and we made him rap on some beat from a producer everyone would know… One after the other, every blogger from the group wrote some stuff to explain why it was dope… It worked. But even more than everything we could have imagined. As this artist went highly praised by all the « tastemaker » blogs, for real. We found him in some year-end blog lists from bone-headed hipsters websites nearly interested in rap, some articles saying it was revolutionary, including some big players like Complex, Fader, Spin, Pitchfork… And now… well this artist has a career. Not amongst the rap audience, but amongst kind of retarded hipsters who love to believe that they listen to rap music, it’s a hit. This artist is touring now, hanging around with stars and shit… I think I won’t reveal his identity for now, but someday someone will, for sure.
Anyway, I don’t know if it’s a proof that these kinds of practices do exist, but it’s a proof it definitely works.
More on a RNT model, there are the Baller’s Eve guys, responsible for launching Yelawof, Trinidad James and a few other careers. The boss of this radio/blog seems to hang out and find new talents pretty much everywhere, then manages them a bit undercover before pretending he discovers them when posting on his blog.
It’s been really nice of you to take some time and energy to tell us the hidden agenda of this story, one last word to add ?
Only that as far as I’m concerned, I don’t write articles on « the next big thing » no more, or new talents, in fact I don’t do really fresh news topics… Not to fall into that kind of stuff, even without noticing.
Because I don’t want to hand on no plates to people no more.
I’ve always been writing what I think, but when you start doing this too much, you become this snooper website, running after the last news and the next thing to blow up… maybe for lack of a real high quality content.

We got Clams Casino producing songs for rappers, Skrillex making pop music instead of his own shit, the unexpected Daft Punk produced Parcels track ‘Overnight’ back in 2017 and the recent Khalid song ‘Talk’ produced by Disclosure. So I’ve got some questions,

1. What are some of your favorite productions / producers?
2. Any songs that made you a fan of the producer?
3. Unexpected collabs?
4. Songs that flew under the radar?
5. Who has a large catalogue of productions? (i. e. KAYTRANADA)
6. What singerappeband collaborates with a bunch of producers(i. e. Example, the singer with Nero, Feed Me, Sub Focus, Chase & Status, etc.)
7. Do you like it when producers make songs for other people?

Edit: Try to avoid remixes

Hello Reddit, I am the New Jersey-based producer Clams Casino. I've previously produced for artists such as A$AP Rocky, Lil B, Vince Staples and Mikky Ekko who all appear on my debut album 32 LEVELS, which dropped last Friday. I'm here to answer your questions. Ask me anything.
Proof
32 Levels on iTunes
Watch my video for "All Nite" featuring Vince Staples
EDIT: Thanks for all your questions. Here's a behind the scenes look at the music video for "All Nite" featuring Vince Staples

After some suggestions over at /music and actually thinking about it myself, I decided to post my introduction to my favorite artist, Mac Miller.
Inspired by the awesome "Guide to Kanye West" by habs76 that actually got me into Kanye and by all the other amazing "guides" out there, I decided, since I didn't found any, to create one for my favorite artist: Mac Miller. If you're thinking "hey that guy barely has four years of career, it's too short" I have to say that, although that's true, he has put out an impressive number of songs, actually his latest mixtape, FACES, is his 11th official release, so we're talking about a lot of material over a short period of time.
A Quick Introduction
Mac Miller's music can be divided into two, distinct phases, with a very different sound: pre-Blue Slide Park and post-BSP. That is because a lot changed in his life after Blue Slide Park came out and those changes were reflected in his music. The former phase is maybe his most commercially successful one, with most, if not all his biggest hits written in this time. The sound is very white-boy rapper with predominantly dancey beats, although there are differences between each of the works that came out over this phase. The latter is a phase characterized by less commercial success but more artistic production, where Mac Miller is not just a rapper anymore, but an eclectic artist who can easily adapt to different genres and can also craft, both for himself and for other artists (such as Vince Staples and SZA), unique sounds under the pseudonym of Larry Fisherman.
So, let's get started:
The High Life (2009) [Mixtape]
The High Life marks the proper introduction of Mac Miller into the world of professional hip-hop, granting him enough local success to ensure him lots of sold-out shows in his hometown of Pittsburgh and in Pennsylvania. It sounds a bit unpolished, but you can already hear hints of his distinct "modern rap, throwback beat" style.
Standout Tracks:

• Another Night - Praising nights spent alone in the house making music and smoking weed over a splendid guitar beat.
  
• Just My Imagination - This song is maybe better in retrospect than it was actually at the time, because few people have been able to achieve much of what he says in this song in as short time as him.
  

K.I.D.S. (2010) [Mixtape]
This mixtape was his breakthrough work and one of his two best works in my opinion. It was his first release after signing with Rostrum, Wiz Khalifa's, and as of late Mac himself's now former, label. Recorded while he already had his own place thanks to the money he made with The High Life, the sound is pretty much on the same style as the latter, although in this mixtape the beats are more polished and his writing has improved greatly. The name K.I.D.S. stands for Kicking Incredibly Dope Shit, and comes for the movie Kids.
Standout Tracks:

• Senior Skip Day - A song to show his love for skipping not just class but every kind of business to be able to enjoy himself. One of the most upbeat songs he has ever made.
  
• Knock Knock - The first single off the mixtape (yeah, his mixtape game is that good), this is another really upbeat song about him "knocking" on the rap game's door and explaining why they should let them in. Great beat, great hit.
  
• Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza - Two and a half minutes of straight rap with no hook over a beautifully old-school beat that caused him a good chunk of trouble (you can read about that on his Wikipedia page). One of his best songs.
  

Best Day Ever (2011) [Mixtape]
This was the mixtape that made him an international superstar. It has many hits, probably thanks to the very bangery sound of most of the beats.
Standout Tracks:

• Best Day Ever - I have to note that there are two versions of this song on the mixtape: the linked one (called BDE Bonus), which is my favorite, and the proper "Best Day Ever" that samples Beauties Can Die by M83, one of my favorite bands. Both are really good. The song is about him finally living his dream.
  
• Donald Trump - This song was an international hit, largely thanks to the amazingly catchy beat crafted by SAP. Of course, Mac knows how to write properly to a catchy song.
  
• All Around The World - Up until this song, Mac Miller was missing a good song about partying, and for someone like him that was not a good thing. Luckily this came around. Writing not exceptional, but it fits perfectly into Just Blaze's dancey beat.
  

Blue Slide Park (2011)
Named after the Pittsburgh park, up until this album, his debut album, Mac Miller had built so much hype that it was inevitable to see this album skyrocket to the top of the charts on its first week of sales, setting the record for most successful independent album of all time. But, for most of the critics, notably Pitchfork, this was only because of the hype and not because the album was actually that good, therefore receiving generally unfavorable reviews. I think that the album is far from perfect, and a bit redundant if you listen to it as a whole, but it surely has got its fair share of good pieces, such as:

• Frick Park Market - Mac goes really hard on this "I don't give a fuck" track named after the eponymous shop on real-life Blue Slide Park.
  
• Missed Calls - A beautiful and heartbreaking song about dealing with the consequences fame has over relationships. Crystal clear beat by Ritz Reynolds.
  
• One Last Thing - As Mac Miller said, the (w)rap-up. This Clams Casino-produced gem is one of Mac's best lyrical efforts up until this point (his lyrical skills will rise dramatically up over the next works). Straight rap and no hook always means some good lines.
  

Macadelic (2012) [Mixtape]
This mixtape marks the start of Mac Miller's second artistic phase. The rather harsh reception that Blue Slide Park received put Mac under a lot of stress, and he went through a bad period in his life. This led him to change his direction in music towards a darker, more thoughtful path, although Macadelic still shares some similarities with his previous work.
Standout Tracks:

• Loud - Mac Miller's trademark banger, Macadelic style.
  
• Thoughts From A Balcony - Maybe the first real taste of what Mac's music was becoming: deep, thoughtful lyrics about the world, life and drugs over a mellow piano beat crafted by Donald Trump's man, SAP.
  
• 1 Threw 8 - In this song Mac is really introspective and wonders what will be remembered of him after he dies. Deep, moody beat by Black Diamond.
  

Watching Movies With The Sound Off (2013)
His second album, it didn't nearly get the same reception as BSP, under every point of view. In fact, it sold much fewer copies while being received overwhelmingly better by critics. I think that it is his best work, maybe together with K.I.D.S. (the two are really different and thus not comparable). In this album Mac's artistic evolution, started on Macadelic, blossoms in an astonishingly wonderful way, with 19 songs that are wonderfully diverse and rich, a cast of collaborators picked perfectly and beautiful production, sometimes handled by the man himself. I recommend listening to the whole album, but there are a few tracks that I think are above the others. The name comes from the way he worked on the album, actually while watching movies with the sound off in the studio.
Standout Tracks:

• S.D.S. - A Flying Lotus-produced track that sees Mac defining his beliefs and wondering about the hardly explainable things in the world. Awesome.
  
• I Am Who Am (Killin' Time) - This song is what I believe is the best lyrical work ever conceived by Mac. It criticizes himself but also what other people say of himself, but in a way that it could be valid for everyone. The beat is dark-dreamy piece by ADOTHEGOD and Niki Randa's voice fits perfectly into the hook.
  
• Objects In The Mirror - This Pharrell Wiliams(!!)-produced work of art is addressing lean, or any other drug, as a girl with whom you have a not so rosy relationship. This is, in my opinion, the best track of the whole album, perfectly crafted both musically and lyrically.
  

Live From Space (2013) [Live Album]
This is not your usual live album, because it's not just a recording of him performing his usual songs at a show. After WMWTSO came out, Mac embarked on The Space Migration Tour and brought, along with the likes of Earl Sweatshirt and Chance The Rapper, the experimental band The Internet from Odd Future together. In fact, on the first part of each show Mac played some of his best songs off of WMWTSO but also from previous works in a wonderfully rearranged version together with The Internet. I recommend listening to the whole album as well because some of the rearrangements are done perfectly, but I'd also suggest giving a listen to some of the new material on the album, because it's really good.
Standout Tracks:

• Youforia (Live) - Although when together with The Internet his songs sound wonderful, I believe that this is the song that exposes Mac Miller as an all-around musical artist. Just him and a slightly processed electric piano, played by the man himself while he sings a song that originally, on WMWTSO, was a rare Clams Casino-produced slow, dreamy ballad. Here he makes it sound more personal and even better.
  
• Eggs Aisle - The name a play on the word exile, a really good stream of consciousness song (which will be pretty much the norm on FACES) in which he contemplates life and spirituality over a spacey beat.
  
• Life - Yet another dreamy beat on this album, makes for a kinda-creepy and deep song about the true definition of "crazy in love". Brilliant "not rapping nor singing" performance by Mac.
  

FACES (2014) [Mixtape]
His latest mixtape, although on the same wave length of Macadelic and WMWTSO, starts to bend a little towards a more alternative, and a touch brighter, direction, and also features much more production by himself, as he's getting much better. The mixtape provides the listener with a staggering 24-track set, although some tracks are (and this is a new entry in his style) instrumentals.
Standout Tracks:

• Polo Jeans - A really good song produced by Earl Sweatshirt in which Mac talks about fame and his new cocaine habit (sigh) while Earl delivers his usual (amazing) rap poetry.
  
• Diablo - One of Mac's best productions under the pseudonym Larry Fisherman, here he addresses haters and rivals in a really stylish way.
  
• New Faces - Another Earl Sweatshirt-produced track, this is yet another song about drugs (like most of the lyrics off of FACES), although this might be the best one at that.
  

EDIT: Thanks to nulspace, I added Live From Space.
EDIT 2: Guys I know it's missing some stuff from really early/Easy Mac days, his Larry Lovestein stuff and Delusional Thomas too, but his early projects are somewhat obscure and he even said once to "don't even listen to that shit" because he was too young... As for his side projects, I skipped them because they are completely different from the stuff he does under the "Mac Miller" name and I wanted this to be just a Mac Miller introduction for people who are not that into him... I believe that once someone gets hooked they'll find out soon enough about that stuff ;)
EDIT 3: To everyone saying that this is not complete and I'm missing out on his best stuff and the guide is completely useless and shit: this post was meant for people who are not really into Mac Miller, to make them listen to what I believe is the best bit of his work. This was not meant for fans of Mac Miller who know the lyrics to Smoke Signals by heart. This is a starting point from where someone who is genuinely interested can start to then dig deeper onto that other stuff on his own. At least that's been the case for me with all of the different guides out there, from OutKast to Modest Mouse, that is my concept of an introductory guide. Man, that guide didn't even feature Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, which is an album, not a mixtape, and yet it was still awesome to me. I'm sorry if my concept of introduction seems wrong to you, you are free to not read this guide, especially if you already are a Mac Miller fan.

Hey guys! I'm a pretty new producer but I'm a huge fan of cloud rap kind of stuff like what Clams Casino produces... you know, the dark, mellow, haunting, atmospheric type stuff. Any tips for kind of replicating that type of production?

https://youtu.be/LxQK07o8t2g - The song in question

Just need to make sure we all on the same page here

Inspired by the awesome "Guide to Kanye West" by habs76 that actually got me into Kanye and by all the other amazing "guides" here on /music, I decided, since I didn't found any, to create one for my favorite artist: Mac Miller. If you're thinking "hey that guy barely has four years of career, it's too short" I have to say that, although that's true, he has put out an impressive number of songs, actually his latest mixtape, FACES, is his 11th official release, so we're talking about a lot of material over a short period of time.
A Quick Introduction
Mac Miller's music can be divided into two, distinct phases, with a very different sound: pre-Blue Slide Park and post-BSP. That is because a lot changed in his life after Blue Slide Park came out and those changes were reflected in his music. The former phase is maybe his most commercially successful one, with most, if not all his biggest hits written in this time. The sound is very white-boy rapper with predominantly dancey beats, although there are differences between each of the works that came out over this phase. The latter is a phase characterized by less commercial success but more artistic production, where Mac Miller is not just a rapper anymore, but an eclectic artist who can easily adapt to different genres and can also craft, both for himself and for other artists (such as Vince Staples and SZA), unique sounds under the pseudonym of Larry Fisherman.
So, let's get started:
The High Life (2009) [Mixtape]
The High Life marks the proper introduction of Mac Miller into the world of professional hip-hop, granting him enough local success to ensure him lots of sold-out shows in his hometown of Pittsburgh and in Pennsylvania. It sounds a bit unpolished, but you can already hear hints of his distinct "modern rap, throwback beat" style.
Standout Tracks:

• Another Night - Praising nights spent alone in the house making music and smoking weed over a splendid guitar beat.
  
• Just My Imagination - This song is maybe better in retrospect than it was actually at the time, because few people have been able to achieve much of what he says in this song in as short time as him.
  

K.I.D.S. (2010) [Mixtape]
This mixtape was his breakthrough work and one of his two best works in my opinion. It was his first release after signing with Rostrum, Wiz Khalifa's now former label. Recorded while he already had his own place thanks to the money he made with The High Life, the sound is pretty much on the same style as the latter, although in this mixtape the beats are more polished and his writing has improved greatly. The name K.I.D.S. stands for Kicking Incredibly Dope Shit, and comes for the movie Kids.
Standout Tracks:

• Senior Skip Day - A song to show his love for skipping not just class but every kind of business to be able to enjoy himself. One of the most upbeat songs he has ever made.
  
• Knock Knock - The first single off the mixtape (yeah, his mixtape game is that good), this is another really upbeat song about him "knocking" on the rap game's door and explaining why they should let them in. Great beat, great hit.
  
• Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza - Two and a half minutes of straight rap with no hook over a beautifully old-school beat that caused him a good chunk of trouble (you can read about that on his Wikipedia page). One of his best songs.
  

Best Day Ever (2011) [Mixtape]
This was the mixtape that made him an international superstar. It has many hits, probably thanks to the very bangery sound of most of the beats.
Standout Tracks:

• Best Day Ever - I have to note that there are two versions of this song on the mixtape: the linked one (called BDE Bonus), which is my favorite, and the proper "Best Day Ever" that samples Beauties Can Die by M83, one of my favorite bands. Both are really good. The song is about him finally living his dream.
  
• Donald Trump - This song was an international hit, largely thanks to the amazingly catchy beat crafted by SAP. Of course, Mac knows how to write properly to a catchy song.
  
• All Around The World - Up until this song, Mac Miller was missing a good song about partying, and for someone like him that was not a good thing. Luckily this came around. Writing not exceptional, but it fits perfectly into Just Blaze's dancey beat.
  

Blue Slide Park (2011)
Named after the Pittsburgh park, up until this album, his debut album, Mac Miller had built so much hype that it was inevitable to see this album skyrocket to the top of the charts on its first week of sales, setting the record for most successful independent album of all time. But, for most of the critics, notably Pitchfork, this was only because of the hype and not because the album was actually that good, therefore receiving generally unfavorable reviews. I think that the album is far from perfect, and a bit redundant if you listen to it as a whole, but it surely has got its fair share of good pieces, such as:

• Frick Park Market - Mac goes really hard on this "I don't give a fuck" track named after the eponymous shop on real-life Blue Slide Park.
  
• Missed Calls - A beautiful and heartbreaking song about dealing with the consequences fame has over relationships. Crystal clear beat by Ritz Reynolds.
  
• One Last Thing - As Mac Miller said, the (w)rap-up. This Clams Casino-produced gem is one of Mac's best lyrical efforts up until this point (his lyrical skills will rise dramatically up over the next works). Straight rap and no hook always means some good lines.
  

Macadelic (2012) [Mixtape]
This mixtape marks the start of Mac Miller's second artistic phase. The rather harsh reception that Blue Slide Park received put Mac under a lot of stress, and he went through a bad period in his life. This led him to change his direction in music towards a darker, more thoughtful path, although Macadelic still shares some similarities with his previous work.
Standout Tracks:

• Loud - Mac Miller's trademark banger, Macadelic style.
  
• Thoughts From A Balcony - Maybe the first real taste of what Mac's music was becoming: deep, thoughtful lyrics about the world, life and drugs over a mellow piano beat crafted by Donald Trump's man, SAP.
  
• 1 Threw 8 - In this song Mac is really introspective and wonders what will be remembered of him after he dies. Deep, moody beat by Black Diamond.
  

Watching Movies With The Sound Off (2013)
His second album, it didn't nearly get the same reception as BSP, under every point of view. In fact, it sold much fewer copies while being received overwhelmingly better by critics. I think that it is his best work, maybe together with K.I.D.S. (the two are really different and thus not comparable). In this album Mac's artistic evolution, started on Macadelic, blossoms in an astonishingly wonderful way, with 19 songs that are wonderfully diverse and rich, a cast of collaborators picked perfectly and beautiful production, sometimes handled by the man himself. I recommend listening to the whole album, but there are a few tracks that I think are above the others. The name comes from the way he worked on the album, actually while watching movies with the sound off in the studio.
Standout Tracks:

• S.D.S. - A Flying Lotus-produced track that sees Mac defining his beliefs and wondering about the hardly explainable things in the world. Awesome.
  
• I Am Who Am (Killin' Time) - This song is what I believe is the best lyrical work ever conceived by Mac. It criticizes himself but also what other people say of himself, but in a way that it could be valid for everyone. The beat is dark-dreamy piece by ADOTHEGOD and Niki Randa's voice fits perfectly into the hook.
  
• Objects In The Mirror - This Pharrell Wiliams(!!)-produced work of art is addressing lean, or any other drug, as a girl with whom you have a not so rosy relationship. This is, in my opinion, the best track of the whole album, perfectly crafted both musically and lyrically.
  

Live From Space (2013) [Live Album]
This is not your usual live album, because it's not just a recording of him performing his usual songs at a show. After WMWTSO came out, Mac embarked on The Space Migration Tour and brought, along with the likes of Earl Sweatshirt and Chance The Rapper, the experimental band The Internet from Odd Future together. In fact, on the first part of each show Mac played some of his best songs off of WMWTSO but also from previous works in a wonderfully rearranged version together with The Internet. I recommend listening to the whole album as well because some of the rearrangements are done perfectly, but I'd also suggest giving a listen to some of the new material on the album, because it's really good.
Standout Tracks:

• Youforia (Live) - Although when together with The Internet his songs sound wonderful, I believe that this is the song that exposes Mac Miller as an all-around musical artist. Just him and a slightly processed electric piano, played by the man himself while he sings a song that originally, on WMWTSO, was a rare Clams Casino-produced slow, dreamy ballad. Here he makes it sound more personal and even better.
  
• Eggs Aisle - The name a play on the word exile, a really good stream of consciousness song (which will be pretty much the norm on FACES) in which he contemplates life and spirituality over a spacey beat.
  
• Life - Yet another dreamy beat on this album, makes for a kinda-creepy and deep song about the true definition of "crazy in love". Brilliant "not rapping nor singing" performance by Mac.
  

FACES (2014) [Mixtape]
His latest mixtape, although on the same wave length of Macadelic and WMWTSO, starts to bend a little towards a more alternative, and a touch brighter, direction, and also features much more production by himself, as he's getting much better. The mixtape provides the listener with a staggering 24-track set, although some tracks are (and this is a new entry in his style) instrumentals.
Standout Tracks:

• Polo Jeans - A really good song produced by Earl Sweatshirt in which Mac talks about fame and his new cocaine habit (sigh) while Earl delivers his usual (amazing) rap poetry.
  
• Diablo - One of Mac's best productions under the pseudonym Larry Fisherman, here he addresses haters and rivals in a really stylish way.
  
• New Faces - Another Earl Sweatshirt-produced track, this is yet another song about drugs (like most of the lyrics off of FACES), although this might be the best one at that.
  

EDIT: Thanks to nulspace, I added Live From Space.

Alright maybe once I have more time I'll put the research in to make a quality post, but right now all I have are a couple leads. So here ya go
I've been bumpin a lot of cloud rap and I'm real curious as to how it came about. The earliest projects I found were Viper-You'll Cowards Don't Even Smoke Crack and Lil B's 6 kiss (specifically with the clams casino produced I'm God
I know a lot of people think viper and lil b are trolls or just shitty, but it's pretty clear these late 2000's works spawned a subgenre almost exclusive to the internet world that became termed "cloud rap." Probably the most well known example of the genre is ASAP Rocky's Live.Love.A$AP tape, which featured heavy production from clams casino and also included the debut of spaceghost purrp on Keep it G, which is an excellent example of the genre's sound. Other popular artists in the genre today include Main Attraktionz, Nacho Picasso x BSBD, and sometimes Antwon
Obviously the genre is already pretty spread out, but there is a clear similarity in sound. So, I was going through old music videos and stumbled upon the Spike Jonze directed Notorious B.I.G. - Sky's the Limit music video. The song's beat, produced by 2000s hitmaker Clark Kent, sounds very similar to a lot of cloud rap stuff today. Do you guys think there's an obvious correlation, or know of any evidence to link the influence? I've also heard of influence from Brian Eno, and the Enya sampling Fugees - Ready Or Not has a similar beat, but both are hard to link.
Anywho, anyone else have any input/ideas? Cloud rap as a genre has grown pretty rapidly since '08 and its already become a fairly popular internet subgenre that is only going to keep growing.

I'm looking for a few of the Clams Casino produced songs, specifically Real Shit from a Real Nigga and Motivation. does anyone know what tapes or albums these are off? Thank you!

So, for the past few days, i've been addicted to this mixtape. Especially the Clams Casino produced songs like Bass, Palace etc. What do you Redditors recommend that I might like? Thanks!