By Tyler J. Scott ’12
THE ROUNDUP

The hip-hop music venue is changing and no one has been a bigger catalyst than Pittsburgh-bred, up-and-coming rap artist Mac Miller.

Miller has captured fans with his hard-hitting lyricism and his knack for connecting to a high school audience.

Miller has appealed to the teenage demographic for the last year and a half with his unique flow, especially fans of Wiz Khalifa, since the rapper graduated from the same high school as Miller.

Fresh off of his success from the mixtape “K.I.D.S.,” Miller put out another mixtape titled “Best Day Ever,” which was released March 11.

“Best Day Ever” is much different from his previous mixtapes. It has a completely different feel and it’s obvious that he is maturing both lyrically and ideally.

Instead of the carefree rhymes and the sentiment of being young and not wanting to grow up found in “K.I.D.S.,” “Best Day Ever” expresses the giddiness of making it big.

The apparent excitement of the magnitude of Miller’s popularity is obvious.

In this mixtape, you can feel Miller’s happiness as he sings about his new fame and wealth just like a recently graduated high school kid should.

In the opening song of the mixtape, “Best Day Ever,” he says, “They say I got next, tell them that I got now, it’s all Disney boy, my family proud.”

While this mixtape holds his most produced beats yet, Miller captured me with his sincere giddiness.

After hyping this mixtape on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, as well as leaking songs from it, I had lofty expectations.

I have to admit that at first this mixtape underwhelmed me, but as I listened to it more and more it grew on me.

I am happy to say that this mixtape eventually met these expectations.

Personal favorites include the songs, “Donald Trump,” “Oy Vey,” “Wake Up” and “In the Air.”