What's the Use? album art

What's the Use?

Mac Miller
Swimming (2018)
Moderate 94 BPM
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Fan image for "What's the Use?"

An abstract illustration of what this song feels like. Each image is built from a prompt — the text description fed to the image generator. Listeners submit their own prompts, upvote the ones that fit best, and the top-voted prompt drives the next regeneration. After 100 image votes, we make a new picture.

Fan-driven abstract illustration evoking the emotional arc of What's the Use? by Mac Miller
The prompt that made this image Editorial abstract illustration evoking the emotional arc of a song titled "What's the Use?" by Mac Miller. Noticeable climb from quiet to loud. balanced composition. Mood: contemplative, introspective, relaxed. Visual style: contemporary editorial aesthetic. Painterly, grainy film texture, muted palette with strategic accent colors. The composition should read left-to-right like a timeline — calm on one side, intensifying toward the other. Strictly no faces, no text, no logos, no literal objects, no band imagery. Pure color-field abstraction with emotional weight. 16:9 editorial format.

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"Editorial abstract illustration evoking the emotional arc of a song titled "What's the Use?" by Mac Miller. Noticeable climb from quiet to loud. balanced composition. Mood: contemplative, introspective, relaxed. Visual style: contemporary editorial aesthetic. Painterly, grainy film texture, muted palette with strategic accent colors. The composition should read left-to-right like a timeline — calm on one side, intensifying toward the other. Strictly no faces, no text, no logos, no literal objects, no band imagery. Pure color-field abstraction with emotional weight. 16:9 editorial format."

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Song DNA

Dynamic Range6/10
Sudden Changesmild
Texturesmooth
Predictabilityhigh
Vocal Stylesoft vocals
Notes: Smooth G-funk production with mellow basslines and subtle layered synths creates a relaxed, groovy flow without harsh edges or abrupt shifts. Soft, introspective vocals glide over consistent rhythms, minimizing sensory overload.

Misophonia Triggers

Mouth Soundsnone
Percussive Clicksnone
Breathing Soundsnone
Repetitive Micro-soundsnone

A contemplative G-funk track from Mac Miller's Swimming album, featuring mellow production with contributions from Pomo, Dam-Funk, Thundercat, Snoop Dogg, and Syd, exploring themes of surrender and life's purpose.

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Hear it the way it was made

The right gear changes everything.

Moods: contemplative, introspective, relaxed

Traditions: G-funk, hip-hop

How this song sits on each sensory axis

A dynamic range of 6/10 means this song moves. Expect a real volume climb between quiet sections and the loudest part of the arrangement — enough that you may want to set the initial volume below where you'd normally land.

Sudden changes: mild. There are one or two transitions worth knowing about, though they're musically resolved rather than surprise-driven.

Texture: smooth.

Predictability is high — the song telegraphs what it will do next. A sensory-sensitive listener can usually guess where it's going without close attention.

Vocal style: soft vocals.

Where this sits in Mac Miller's catalog

We have 39 songs from Mac Miller in the library. Of those, 12 are rated Safe, 26 Moderate, and 1 Intense. This song's dynamic range of 6/10 sits above the artist average of 5.4, making it the #22 most dynamic track of theirs in our library.

Other tracks from Swimming

We have 8 songs from this album. Overall, the album leans moderate in sensory profile.

2018 context

Released in 2018. We have 461 songs from that year in our library, averaging a dynamic range of 6.3/10. This track is about average than the year average. Explore more from the 2010s.

Explore by mood and tradition

Moods
contemplative · 3297introspective · 5721relaxed · 20
Traditions
G-funk · 7hip-hop · 800

Why this rating

We rate this song Moderate because it falls between our Safe and Intense thresholds on at least one dimension. Moderate is the default for most well-produced music that has real arc but no surprise elements. Full rubric: methodology.

Rating last reviewed: 2026-04-14. Reviewed by the Music I Want editorial team against the documented methodology.

Think this rating is wrong? Email the editor — every message is read and ratings get revised.

Frequently asked about "What's the Use?"

Quick answers pulled from the song's sensory analysis.

What is the sensory intensity of "What's the Use?" by Mac Miller?

"What's the Use?" by Mac Miller rates as Moderate intensity. Dynamic range 6/10, mild sudden changes, smooth texture. Moderate is the default for well-produced music with real arc but no surprise elements.

How loud is "What's the Use?" — what is its dynamic range?

"What's the Use?" has a dynamic range of 6/10. Noticeable climb from quiet sections to loudest point. Set opening volume slightly lower than your preferred peak.

Does "What's the Use?" have sudden or surprising changes?

"What's the Use?" has mild sudden changes — one or two transitions worth knowing about, but they are musically resolved rather than surprise-driven.

What is "What's the Use?" best for?

In our library "What's the Use?" is recommended for: anxiety relief, focus, relaxation. These tags are assigned only where the song's sensory profile genuinely supports the use case.

When was "What's the Use?" released?

"What's the Use?" is from 2018, on the album "Swimming". It appears in our 2010s catalog.

What is the emotional mood of "What's the Use?"?

We tag "What's the Use?" as contemplative, introspective, relaxed. Moods are tonal descriptors based on how the song reads emotionally — separate from the sensory intensity axes.

What is the vocal style of "What's the Use?"?

The vocal style is soft vocals.

Should I listen to "What's the Use?"?

"What's the Use?" is Moderate intensity — fine for most listeners, but with enough dynamic activity that it works best as active listening rather than background.

Songs with the same DNA

smooth texture, similar intensity — across any genre or era.

The Days of Wine and Roses
Joe Pass
safe
DR 6
The Ship Song
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
safe
DR 6
Satin Doll
Duke Ellington
safe
DR 6
Little Ghost
The White Stripes
safe
DR 5
What a Fool Believes
The Doobie Brothers
safe
DR 5
Youforia
Mac Miller
moderate
DR 6

Safer alternatives with a similar feel

These songs share similar moods but with a gentler sensory profile.

Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9 No. 2
Frédéric Chopin safe
Blowin' in the Wind
Bob Dylan safe
It's Too Late
Carole King safe
If I Were a Boy
Beyoncé safe
Kind of Blue
Miles Davis safe

What this song means to people

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