Mac Miller’s creative output is the stuff of legends. His popularity continues to grow posthumously, which is a testament to his talent and potential that was tragically cut short by his death in 2018. For example, Swimming, the last album he released while still alive, has remained on the Billboard charts for over three years.

There is a treasure trove of unreleased music that has been leaked online and even more that remains in a vault. One fan favorite mixtape that has never seen an official release due to the amount of samples that needed to be cleared, Faces will finally get an official release on vinyl and streaming services on October 15th. This announcement came alongside a digitally animated music video for the track “Colors and Shapes.” The video is directed by Sam Mason and features a dog that travels through a dreamscape getting picked up by a boat captain that resembles Mac Miller. Mason told Complex: “The track felt very visual to me – like it had its own world. This atmospheric nighttime place that was sometimes dangerous, sometimes comforting, then I saw a picture of (Mac Miller’s dog) Ralph and a story emerged. To build it out I asked Malcolm’s family to send me bits and pieces from his childhood, scenes from the town where he grew up, objects, toys from his room – little pieces of his life that I extrapolated outwards and used to inspire the story. In the abstract, it’s meant to be a video about childhood – growing up as an artist and the highs and lows of that experience. It’s sort of a look at the emotional and difficult and perilous but noble path of an artist.”

“Colors and Shapes” isn’t a hip-hop song, but it introduced listeners and fans to a crooning Mac Miller that was to become a signature sound later in his career, most notably on his posthumous record Circles, released as a sequel to Swimming. The trippy video is a welcome addition to Mac Miller’s legacy and a melancholy tribute to the young artist who had such a major influence that lives on to this day.

Originally put out on Mother’s Day 2014 through his Soundcloud account, Faces marked a turn in Mac’s rap career that was both creatively enriching and darkly personal. It wasn’t just a hip-hop mixtape, but a look into the mind’s eye of the chart-topping artist and his struggles with addiction, fame, and the ups and downs of life itself. In an interview with Complex, Mac described the mixtape saying, “Every song on there has a very meaningful story and before I jump in and tell everyone the story of everything, I want to make sure that it’s digested. Give people some time with some high quality raps.” The self-destructive path he was displaying might have seemed like a cry for help, but it also produced this masterpiece of a mixtape that is unlike anything else in his oeuvre. Featuring guest spots from a range of rappers, including Rick Ross, Earl Sweatshirt, Vince Staples, Schoolboy Q, and Mike Jones, among others, the 24-track mixtape shows just how prolific and influential Mac Miller was, is, and will continue to be.

The vinyl for Faces is available for pre-order now in two collectable versions, with all but the samples from films intact. The cover was designed by Sam Mason and Mac’s older brother Miller McCormick, who also did the artwork for many of his other projects. The timelessness of his music lives on through the artistry and evolution of his sound. Here’s hoping that this is just the beginning of more official releases of Mac Miller’s music for his fanbase to revel in and fondly remember his impact on hip hop and music from beyond the grave