Delaware artist creates viral Mac Miller 'Balloonerism' album cover

• Delaware artist explains abstract album cover for Mac Miller's 'Balloonerism'
• Mac Miller fans around the world have recreated Delaware artist's 'Balloonerism' album art
• 'Balloonerism' has topped multiple Billboard album charts

Whenever someone looks at the surreal album cover of late rapper Mac Miller's "Balloonerism," they're also soaking in the creative genius of Delaware's own Alim Smith.

Smith, also known as Yesterday Nite, is the visual artist behind the mesmerizing album art, which portrays Mac Miller with a Picasso-style face and a massive balloon head held by a shadowy figure. The posthumous album – which features R&B singer SZA, an alum of Delaware State University – dropped in January.

Not only has "Balloonerism" soared to No. 1 across multiple Billboard album charts, the album art has sparked Mac fans around the world to create their own works of art inspired by Smith's abstract album cover.

Alim Smith praised for Mac Miller 'Balloonerism' cover

Instagram artist Johnny Grieco, for example, caught Smith's attention with an IG post that featured the "Balloonerism" cover as a backboard on a real basketball hoop.

"This is soooooooo hard," Smith raved in the comment section of Grieco's post.

"Coming from the man himself!?" a humbled Grieco said to the Small Wonder artist, before adding: "You killed this artwork bro."

Smith has delighted countless fans with his "Balloonerism" artwork. Lately he’s been getting a taste of his own trippy medicine, thanks to the relentless waves of fan art inspired by his work splashing him in the face.

But it hasn't been easy for Smith to keep his head in the clouds. By the time he graduated from Cab Calloway School of the Arts in 2008, he was diagnosed with epilepsy and his mom lost her job, discouraging him from further pursuing his art education. But Smith was determined to thrive and continued to grow through networking and showings in Wilmington, Philly, New York and Florida from 2015-2017, one year before Mac Miller would reach out to him for artwork on Instagram. 

"It's very surreal, for one. Two, it's very validating because I've been doing art since I was a kid. But I didn't start taking it serious until I was like 25," Smith, of Wilmington, told Delaware Online/The News Journal.

Smith, now 34, said it was about a decade ago when an ambitious idea entered his mind: "Around 35, I'll be recognized more."

Mac Miller loved Alim Smith's abstract art style: 'Need this'

Smith caught Mac Miller's attention on Instagram on Aug. 16, 2018, with an abstract piece of art he posted of himself reimagined as a child.

That painting was an IG repost (from March 21, 2016) of a self-portrait Smith created of his childhood days in Wilmington, an image that looked similar to the cover that Smith would eventually create for "Balloonerism." In the self-portrait, Smith created himself as a balloon wearing glasses. But looming above him was a giant hand clutching a metal pin, ready to pop the balloon. 

Mac Miller commented on the IG post, "Need this." Smith said Mac sent him a DM on Instagram and the two ended up talking on the phone.

Alim Smith dives into 'Swimming' artwork for Mac Miller

Smith said Mac initially wanted him to create artwork in support of "Swimming," an album the rapper dropped just a few days before he commented on the self-portrait.

"He was talking about how we're always swimming through life and navigating the tides and the waves and the crashing," Smith said about Mac Miller.

The painter mentioned the Pittsburgh rapper sent him reference pictures of him sitting in front of his door.

Smith first tried to Photoshop things into the image to make it look like the rapper was underwater. But Smith’s pieces didn't seem to fit Mac's vision for "Swimming."

The painter also said Mac was really chill, and “I don’t know if he had a clear expectation” of what he wanted Smith to create for the “Swimming” project.  

"He didn't like the direction of the sh-- I was doing. So, he was like, 'Just make me a self-portrait like yours, but just with me,'" Smith explained.

Mac Miller 'Balloonerism' album cover explained

The inspiration behind Smith's self-portrait came from a school picture when the visual artist was a student at Shortlidge Elementary School in Wilmington. Smith posed in the photo wearing glasses and a deadpan look on his face.

"I needed to capture how awkward that phase is in life like when you're not a teenager yet, but you're still not a kid no more. You have two big teeth, and your body just looks wrong, proportion-wise," Smith explained. "I just wanted to capture that vibe."

Flora Smith, the painter’s mom, said her son wasn’t crazy about posing for photos as a child, and that’s carried over to adulthood.

“That [school] picture was a picture of him and how he felt his face would look if he could make the different pieces of his face move around, because he hated taking pictures,” the mom explained. “He's an introvert, but he's an extrovert with his art.”

When Alim Smith learned about death of Mac Miller

Weeks after Mac graced Smith's Instagram page, Smith was doing an art show at Gallery 102 in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 7, 2018. But he said something didn't seem right.

"I was feeling so weird all day. I didn't know why," Smith recalled. "I experienced a lot of death in life and I feel like sometimes before I get the news, I'm just feeling weird."

The feeling intensified at the art show when Smith learned Mac had died. The rapper died at age 26 from an accidental drug overdose.

A day after Mac died, Smith wrote an emotional tribute on Instagram and shared a painting of the "Balloonerism" cover, which featured crease marks on it because he had folded it up, Smith’s mom said.

The painter said Mac was a down-to-earth person, despite being famous, which was evident whenever they talked on the phone.  

"He was cool as hell. He was one of the only celebrity people that hit me up [at the time]," Smith explained. "We just chatted on the phone about basketball. We were chatting and sh--. He was cool."

What did Mac Miller think of the 'Balloonerism' album cover?

Mac never got a chance to see the final version of his "Balloonerism" cover. But the rapper did get to see drafts and "he loved it," Smith said.

Fans bootleg Mac Miller 'Balloonerism' with Alim Smith album art

During the pandemic, bootlegs of "Balloonerism" were floating around. Mac's fans took Smith's unpolished cover painting and were selling fake vinyls and cassettes of the album, he said.

The visual artist’s mom said fans also used words from his IG tribute to Mac and printed them onto fake albums and T-shirts. The mom said she sensed something “crazy” was brewing with how passionately Mac's fans were spreading her son's unpolished "Balloonerism" artwork.

“I said, ‘This is crazy.’ It’s growing like wildfire,” the mom recalled.

Smith said the movement was so out of control that Warner Records was pressured into using his artwork for the official release of "Balloonerism."  

"That's why Warner [Records] had to reach out to me, because the fans kind of already made it a thing," he explained.

After "Balloonerism" officially dropped, Smith was surprised to see even more fan art and publicity surrounding his album art.

"Once it came out again, it was like the same exact process, but on steroids, because now the images are on billboards and it's everywhere," he said.

'Balloonerism' floats, despite Mac Miller tragedy

Although Mac Miller died before "Balloonerism" officially dropped, Smith said it feels like the rapper has still been along for the ride.

Smith said at one point he was working on official artwork for Starz’s drama “Empire,” but it got derailed after cast member Jussie Smollett staged a hate-crime hoax, Smith said.  

“I had a project I was doing .... for the show ‘Empire,’ but then Jussie Smollett got into his situation, so they had to nix it,” Smith explained. “Then I was doing things for Mac Miller, and then he passed.”

Two of Smith’s major projects became deflated. But “Balloonerism” would eventually rise, taking Smith's recognition to another level. The visual artist said it's like the late Mac Miller is still involved with the project and is celebrating the album's success with him.

“For it to come around so full circle, it feels like he still is a part of it,” Smith said about Mac. “And to know that he at least seen [the 'Balloonerism' art] and was fu----- with it before he passed, I feel good about that.”

Smith is also more recognized than he's ever been, all before celebrating his 35th birthday on Monday, March 24.

"At 34, to make an album cover and thousands of artists are painting their own interpretation, stealing it, putting it on tattoos, doing all kinds of sh--, that's very validating," Smith said.

If you have an interesting story idea, email lifestyle reporter Andre Lamar at alamar@gannett.com. Consider signing up for his weekly newsletter, DO Delaware, at delawareonline.com/newsletters.