The Divine Feminine

Background and meaning

According to Miller, the album was not about love (romantic), but rather about learning from women throughout his life and what those experiences mean to him.

Singles

The album's first single, "Dang!" was released on July 28, 2016. The track features guest appearance from American recording artist Anderson Paak, while the production was handled by Pomo. The music video for "Dang!" was released on August 2, 2016.

The album's second single, "We" was released on August 19, 2016. The track features guest appearance from American singer-songwriter CeeLo Green, while the production was handled by Frank Dukes and Kaan Gunesberk.

The album's third single, "My Favorite Part" was released on September 9, 2016. The track features guest appearance from a fellow American recording artist Ariana Grande, while the production was handled by MusicManTy.

Critical reception

The Divine Feminine received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 70, based on nine reviews. Andy Kellman of AllMusic said, "At all times, Miller and his associates are on the same page. Another aspect that makes this the rapper's most fulfilling album is that all the lines about being saved and in awe seem to be expressed with as much ease as the anatomical references, like they're plain facts, not wrenching confessions." Narsimha Chintaluri of HipHopDX said, "The listenability is at an all-time high, but the writing itself is still lackluster." Marshall Gu of PopMatters said, "Mac Miller isn't a good rapper, and he definitely can't carry a note, though he tries to do that a lot on this one. However, he has a vision of what he wanted this album to sound like and then carried it through with all the right producers and features, which is a talent in and of itself." Sheldon Pearce of Pitchfork said, "It's easily his most intoxicating release yet, an odyssey of soulful compositions paring down his expansive and eclectic soundboard from the last few years into something distinctly cozy and pleasant."

Scott Glaysher of XXL said, "All in all, The Divine Feminine is an experiment well done. Mac Miller's creative mind explores the ins and outs of the modern relationship while maintaining a certain level of sophistication that can be considered timeless." Kyle Eustice of Consequence of Sound said, "The album could offer some really tender moments, but because they're buried under lyrics that talk about nothing but sex, they're lost. Instead, The Divine Feminine leaves a sour taste behind and entirely misses an opportunity to truly honor the female gender." Ben Beaumont-Thomas of The Guardian said, "Few lyrics are particularly arresting (on "My Favorite Part", new girlfriend Ariana Grande is told that she doesn't know how beautiful she is) and there's some mid-album filler as Miller struggles to add hooks to cosmic G-funk." Keith Harris of Rolling Stone said, "Miller's grown-ass beats clash with his juvenile boasts, so he often ends up sounding like a well-meaning kid who can't stop putting his kicks up on the fancy furniture."

Complex placed The Divine Feminine at number 23 on their "50 Best Albums of 2016" year-end list. XXL ranked it among the best 50 hip hop projects of 2016.

Commercial performance

In the United States, The Divine Feminine debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, with 48,000 units, 32,000 of which were from traditional album sales.

Notes