By Liz Hammond
Asst. living & arts editor
This summer, there were a lot of wins but even more losses taken in the rap industry.
On Aug. 3, we were blessed with two major names releasing new music. Travis Scott dropped the album “ASTROWORLD” and Mac Miller dropped the album “Swimming.”
While Scott had more promotion than Miller, that is exactly how Miller operates: he knows that his fans will listen to his album and he rarely tries to impress people who are outside of that circle.
“Swimming” was different for Miller. His beats are uplifting and groovy, but when you get down to the lyrics, they’re self-deprecating.
Even more so, you can hear in his voice how he is trying to come up for air in the daunting ocean that are his thoughts.
Miller has been dragged through the media ever since his breakup with Ariana Grande. As she put it, she wanted to end the toxic relationship because of Miller’s long history with addiction.
When interviewed for “Vulture,” Miller said, “I’ve been finding freedom in just living and letting people say whatever the fuck they want. Like, do I really care what ‘Hollywood Life’ is saying?”
On this album he makes no attempt to redeem himself.
Miller takes the time on each song to focus on his thoughts and make sure they come out clear.
In the world of mumble rap and lyrics that have no meaning, this is new for the 2018 rap scene.
Miller recorded this album in Southern California, which included his house as well as Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles.
After California, Miller traveled out to Hawaii where he recorded “Hurt Feelings” and “Wings.” These geographic locations give the album a warm sound and depth.
To spotlight some important songs, one is “Come Back to Earth,” which is the first song off the album. Miller wastes no time fully immersing you in his deep thoughts.
He sings, “I just need a way out of my head/I’ll do anything for a way out of my head.” You can hear the sadness in his voice, but even more than that, the last shred of positivity he has left.
The next song, “Hurt Feelings,” ultimately has the best flow off the album. It is so natural that you won’t be able to stop listening.
This song isn’t short of lyrics that will stick with you: “I be goin’ through it, you just around go around it/But it’s really not that different when you think about it.”
On “What’s the Use?” Miller gets groovy with his synth beats and you find yourself bobbing your head before you can stop it.
He is accompanied by some vocals from Snoop Dogg and Thundercat, adding some flare to the song.
But on this album, it isn’t the songs with the best production that take your breath away: it’s the slow songs that take time to listen to.
He’s not trying to really pinpoint depression in one way, but rather, having an emotional awakening and weathering the lows that we all inevitably face.
One of the best examples of this is “Conversation, Pt. 1.” Miller sounds like he is just sitting in front of his peers talking to them on a real level. Just spilling the truth and not caring what anyone has to say about it.
On the song, “Dunno,” it is like Miller’s love song to the girl in his dreams, whoever she may be. “Oh, I wanna feel just how you feel/Touch you one more time so I know you’re real,” he sings.
In the same interview with “Vulture,” Miller said: “I really wouldn’t want just happiness and I don’t want just sadness either. I don’t want to be depressed. I want to be able to have good days and bad days… I can’t imagine not waking up sometimes and being like, ‘I don’t feel like shit.’ And then having days where you wake up and you feel on top of the world.”
It’s clear that this whole album was Miller’s attempt at his own form of self-care, which is essentially emotionally vulnerable music that we so desperately need in the times of anxiety and depression skyrocketing in college students like us.
