You ［10inch］

While Larry Lovestein & the Velvet Revivals album You looks and sounds like a lost lounge-jazz album from the 1970s, in reality it was an inspired one-off side project of rapper Mac Miller. Recorded in 2012, You marked the beginning of Millers fruitful collaboration with Los Angeles producer/studio-wizard Jon Brion. Though Miller had garnered buzz for his wry, party-centric anthems prior to You, the EP marked the beginning of a creative transformation that found him experimenting with blending hip-hop with jazz, soul, and funk textures. Continuing his work with Brion, Miller further embraced this experimentation, earning accolades in the process for both 2018s Swimming and 2020s posthumously released Circles. Here, tracks like "Life Can Wait," "Love Affair," and "You" have a smokey, nightclub atmosphere, one that finds Miller playing the electric piano and crooning with a throaty, laid-back swagger. Its a loungey, conceptual vibe that merely hints at what was to come. ~ Matt Collar