Swimming is Mac Miller’s fifth studio album and the follow-up to his 2016 LP, The Divine Feminine. It is also the last album released during his lifetime, as Mac passed away only a month after the album’s release. Having used water imagery throughout his career to represent the navigation of inner turmoil, Swimming sees Mac reach a new point of acceptance and content in his life, evidenced by a line on the album’s intro, “Come Back to Earth”: I was drowning, but now I’m swimming Through stressful waters to relief Rather than drowning in his perennial struggles, Mac is trying to swim to shore. Throughout the album, Mac explores the conflict between his struggles and a newfound sense of positivity and optimism. Swimming details Mac’s life experiences since The Divine Feminine as he tries to move forward with his life. Ultimately, as his final work, Mac offers a catharsis, portraying a strong desire to develop self-love, personal healing, and psychological growth that so many fans gained, and resonated with, from listening to his music.