learn 2 swim

The Maryland rapper/producer dropped *learn 2 swim* on his 18th birthday, which explains the preoccupation with the bittersweetness of growing up: “Sit and watch my youth wash away/Wish that I could say that I know things will be okay,” goes the hazy hook on “shoulder.” But redveil thrives in the liminal space of teenage uncertainty, translating it through searching bars and dreamy homemade sample collages. His sound feels fully realized already—not quite a throwback, but warm and rich and lived in (probably because he’s been doing this since he was 11, banging out Fruity Loops beats and studying the craft of fellow old soul Earl Sweatshirt). redveil doesn’t pretend he’s got all the answers just yet; like he suggests on the jazzy, breezy “diving board,” the best way to figure it out is to jump in headfirst.

The Maryland rapper’s latest album soars on a sense of melancholic triumph, ordaining a new star to watch in the process.