Mac Miller – Swimming

Sadly we lost this young Pittsburgh native rapper recently. At the beginning of September the 26-year-old was found dead in his Los Angeles home. Substance abuse had been a problem throughout his career. Tragic. His career has been marked by the inability to place his music in a box. He is not a guy who has a sound and sticks to it. Always playing and changing things up. While doing so he seemed to not concern himself with the commerciality of his work, rather wanting to push himself artistically. This will be his final album (though can we ever really say that?) and features several collaborations with artists like John Mayer, Thundercat and Snoop Dogg. Listening to it further deepens the sorrow felt due to the loss of this wordsmith. It features some of his best work to date. First, it signals a return to him embracing the more commercial style that was prevalent early in his career. Rather than fearing accessibility, he now seems to have settled back into it. There is still such a variety to sounds found here that you will never find yourself losing interest or falling into a musical rut. Though all 13 songs sound different they still work well as a whole with plenty of flow. The great lyrics, especially about his broken heart (had recently broken up with Ariana Grande) and struggle with sobriety, and some of the old school sounds make for a wonderful combo.