To subvert typical rap tropes, Mick Jenkins starts by indulging them. Drowning is a fairly common theme in hip-hop, whether it’s Kendrick Lamar swimming against the currents of alcoholism, or Lil Wayne overwhelmed with women on “The Motto.” Here, Jenkins is most clearly alluding to his Chicago forebear Kanye West. On “Bound 2,” Ye rapped about times “you supposed to drown.” West uses the metaphor to contextualize his impending monogamy, yet Jenkins doesn’t see drowning as lightly. Jenkins uses the line and adds to it, “I can’t breathe,” quoting Eric Garner’s last words, which have become a sorrowful rallying cry for the Black Lives Matter movement and the fight against police brutality.

On “Drowning,” Jenkins clamors against the current cultural landscape, as well as the state of rap. He takes in drugs as needed until even that escape has him gasping for air. BadBadNotGood’s glacially steady instrumentation, meanwhile, keeps him slowly moving along. It’s a song without a direct solution, but one that brings crucial matters to the surface with its mood and tone, presenting them exactly as serious as they are.