On The Come Up: Mick Jenkins

Joel Lorenzi, Music Critic

While drill rap has managed to parade Chicago’s rap scene over the past several years, artists like Chance The Rapper, Lucki Eck$, Vic Mensa, and many others have popularized their own sounds within Chicago. One particular act has drawn a lot of attention, and has emphasized the talent outside of the drill movement. Mick Jenkins was born in Alabama, but was raised on the Southside of Chicago. His rap career began with writing poetry in high school. He didn’t consider rapping until he found out about a rapping contest where he could win a pair of Beats By Dre headphones by beating out other contestants. He didn’t win, but it inspired him to continue rapping and take it seriously.

Photo courtesy: http://www.notey.com/blogs/mick-jenkins-london-tour

In January 2012, Jenkins released his first mixtape titled The Mickstape. In August of that year, he released his second tape titled The Pursuit of HappyNess: The Story of Mickscalage while still in college. When he returned to Chicago later that year he joined the poetry collective YCA (Young Chicago Authors) with fellow Chicago rapper Saba. The two came together on a track titled Heaux, which gained them both a lot of attention. In 2013, Jenkins released his third tape titled Trees & Truths. It displayed his jazz influence and exceptional lyricism. This tape would put him under the radar and allow him to collaborate with fellow Chicago rappers Chance The Rapper & Vic Mensa later that year. In July 2014, released his single Martyrs along with a music video. Jenkins received praise for the visual for Martyrs, due to his sense of imagery, social awareness, and incredible lyricism. It gave him attention from big names like Timbaland. The following month he released his critically acclaimed project The Water(s). Later that year he caught his first break when he joined the 2014 Smoker’s Club World Wide Roller’s Tour with Method Man, Redman, B-Real, and others. In February 2015, he had his first official tour alongside Saba, Kirk Knight, and Noname. He also toured with Joey Bada$$ & Denzel Curry on the first part of their World Domination Tour. In August 2015, Mick released another mixtape titled Wave(s). Jenkins released his debut album The Healing Component in September of 2016, which featured singles such as Spread Love and Drowning

Mick Jenkins has done great work with many Chicago artists. He’s built his name up and is widely known as a sharp lyricist, a poetic mind, and a conscious rapper that can speak about social awareness. I asked Whitney Young students about Mick Jenkins to get some opinions. Junior Jake Kosakowski said “[Mick] is different but bringing a new light and fresh positivity to Chicago music, especially with his more recent work like The Healing Component.” Junior Xavier Castaneda said “Mick Jenkins is an open minded underground rapper. He’s a lyricist that is able to express his feelings about many different things using his own style.” Junior Christian Lovett said “The Healing Component is amazing. Spread Love is a movement. It’s the mission.” Everybody seems to love Mick Jenkins’ compelling lyricism and strong topics. Whether you love him or not, Mick Jenkins is on the come up.