Moving on to some newer shit. This time, a newer and little known artist from Chicago named theMIND. A lot of y'all might have heard of him, on his frequent collaborations with fellow Chicagoan Mick Jenkins, putting his wavey vocals on tracks like "Dehydration", "Perception", "Grenade Theory" and "Sunkissed". He has also contributed vocals on tracks with Saba, Noname, Joey Purp, Jean Deaux and more. In fact, he's one of the people who are really creating a new aquatic and chill sound, along with fellow Chicago artists.
After 2 years of providing vocals for artists and even producing on projects with THEMPeople, he released his debut single "Mercury Rising", a chill song that is about dreaming big and trying to achieve big things. He followed it up in April with a second single called "Pale Rose", which was more experimental and weird. It ended up being remixed by High Klassified, and it was more of a chill and trappy song, with a funky twist towards the middle of the remix. His debut project, Summer Camp, has been anticipated for a while by his little fanbase. And finally, in June, it dropped.
Summer Camp was released exclusively on SoundCloud on June 29, preceding "Sunkissed", the Mick Jenkins single with theMIND that was released a few hours prior. The mixtape was a brief narrative focused on a romantic relationship between TheMIND and a young female. It features 11 tracks with guest appearances from Noname, Micheal Anthony, Towkio, Sean Deaux & more, along with production from THEMPeople, Knox Fortune, Carter Lang and BeatMachineAron. And yes, there's no Mick Jenkins feature unfortunately (although TheMIND released a new song just a few days ago called "Animated Ambition", which features Mick, Noname & Jesse Boykins III. I think that was an outtake from the mixtape).
The mixtape received positive reviews, praising the sound, lyricism and concept of the mixtape. They also praised the guest appearances and how they delivered on the album. Obviously, I dunno how much units it sold, whether it charted the Billboard 200 or anything. It's a mixtape, for goodness sake. Plus, it wasn't available on Spotify or Apple Music, and SoundCloud prolly doesn't count as streams on the RIAA. So let's get into it!
1. Summer Camp
The title track intro, which gives us our first look of TheMIND's relationship with a young girl and how he fell in love with her. He want to spend time with her, and have a good night, instead of sleeping and dealing with his own problems the next day, considering that it's the Summer. The instrumental is very funky and wavey, gives an aquatic and smooth vibe, especially with the vocals. The ending is even pretty relaxing, and who was that girl at the end? Her vocals were soothing, fam! I love this opener.
2. Pale Rose
The mixtape's second single. When I first heard this track, I was just like "WTF is this?". It sounded like a mess, the drums, the electronic sound, it was an uncomfortable listen for me. Hearing it the third time, it's a decent song. It sounds alright, and the vocals from theMIND are A1. 3 minutes in, and the beat switches. And it feels soothing and chill AF. Before it gets back to its normal beat. The production is good, vocals are nice, electronic sound was uncomfortable for me still. Overall, I just can't get with it as much as I try to. If anything, I'd recommend the High Klassified remix of it, it sounds even better than this. Plus, I vibe to it a lot more.
3. Sa ve thewo rld (feat. Michael Anthony)
Wasn't expecting this to bang out like this. God damn, this beat is FUEGO!!!!! theMIND hooks up with Michael Anthony, and they both deliver with their chill and wavey vocals. Micheal starts off nice. and I really liked his verse. But theMIND did his thing, and he impressed me a lot more. We then get into a little interlude between theMIND and his girl (apparently named Sun) before we get into his third verse. where the beat switches up into something a lot more laidback, but darker at the same time. His vocals are better this time, and it was nice to see how the mood changed so quick when that verse kicked in. I love this song, one of my favourite tracks on the tape.
4. In Peace
A little track, where theMIND addresses the anguish of being alive and young, but not understanding our full potential. theMIND's vocals are great and A1, and the production is beautiful. The content, while little, was pretty interesting too. I just wish that it was longer, he could've added 2 more verses.
5. Mercury Rising
The mixtape's first single, which sounds so amazing and beautiful. The overall song revolves around dreams and goals as theMIND tells a story about the two personified Solar System planets. The first verse is about Jupiter, who had never seen the stars. theMIND is portrayed as an astronaut. The second verse is about Mercury, who always dreamed of being a star. He started to sell "moonrocks" (a metaphor for crack cocaine), as he was struggling with life. The content was amazing, and theMIND creates a very vivid picture with this song. The video even creates a better and more interesting image, with the stop motion animation. The vocals on here are so wonderful, and the production is beautiful and gives such a spacey vibe. I really love this song. So lovely. So beautiful. So amazing!
6. Fox Fur Lining
Just a 30 second skit.
7. Come Home
Oooh, I like this. The beat kicked in so smoothly, and the bass and electronic synths were A1. This 2 minute song sees theMIND crooning about how he hasn't been home. He asks how the streets have been like, and also talks about the crime, and how his people in the streets has been lost. He explains that he left his home to make music and make a way for his city and change the world. The production was wavey, and I loved the vocals on here. The content on here was pretty heartfelt and interesting to hear. Another great song.
8. Purple Fox Fur (feat. Donnie Trumpet, Towkio & Sean Deaux)
Fellow Chicago artists Towkio & Sean Deaux jump on a track with theMIND, while Donnie Trumpet is on trumpet duties. The song is a slight change in the project's mood, and it's more of a funky song you can groove to. theMIND starts off with his nice vocals, and provides a good hook to put the track together. Towkio comes up next with a tight rap verse, and he really gets with the song's mood. Sean Deaux ends the song with his singing, and he does his thing. My problem, however, is that the song feels short, and I feel that they could've added another person. Maybe Chance the Rapper or Mick Jenkins. Still a good track though.
9. Only the Beginning (feat. Noname)
Noname is the next guest appearance on the mixtape, hooking up with theMIND for my favourite song on this mixtape. The beat really kicked in amazingly, and I was bumping my head throughout when I heard this. I'm bumping my head right now to this while you read this post. Anyway, theMIND starts off the song by rapping in a spoken word-like flow. When it gets to the hook, the beat slows down and it sounded sick AF. Noname comes through with a quick verse, which I wish was long, cos I know she would've killed it even more. Her vocals then fade away, before the song switches up the mood to a darker vibe. The drums and claps on here are great, and the electronic sound around it is just way too amazing. One of the best songs on the mixtape.
10. Log Entry #23
Damn, that instrumental though!
11. Sand Dunes
So... the story ends. After Sun says her goodbye to theMIND, he ends the tape with a rap over a laidback beat. He then gets to his singing, which is throughout the whole track. We then hear the organ come through, giving a Christian gospel vibe, and Kiara Lanier provides some wonderful background vocals, while the instrumental rides out. It sounds so amazing, and it's such a great conclusion to a wavey ass project.
Final Thoughts
After a long period of providing vocals for other Chicago artists, we finally get a solo project from theMIND. And it doesn't disappoint. Summer Camp has to be one of my favourite projects so far this year, and probably one of the most slept on. It's such a great listen, and has so much replay value. The concept of the mixtape is simple. theMIND tells a story about his encounters with a young girl called Sun. He has a lot of fun, and forms a romantic relationship with her. We get deep into their relationship on songs like the title track "Summer Camp", "Sa ve thewo rld" and "Purple Fox Fur". Even the skits get into detail on the relationship. theMIND also has some heartfelt and deep tracks such as "In Peace" and "Mercury Rising".
The sound on here is just amazing and beautiful. The aquatic and spacey vibes and the vocals always make me feel like I'm either floating around in space or just chilling in the sun. It really brings something new to the table. I just love the production on here. "Sa ve thewo rld" has a very aquatic and spacey beat, and the drums are pretty nice. The vocals and sound on there is amazing and it's something I can vibe to. "Only the Beginning" is another one, where the beat really outshines everything. The progression in that instrumental is just amazing. "Sand Dunes" features the most laidback beat on the whole project, and theMIND's rapping on the track really interested me. His flow was very intriguing. And how it led into a Christian gospel feel near the end got me really impressed. The background vocals, the autotune, the laidback sound around it. It was a great conclusion.
Can't forget about the features, they really delivered on this project. Michael Anthony did his thing on "Sa ve thewo rld", his vocals sounded good. Towkio provided a solid verse on "Purple Fox Fur", and Sean Deaux really concluded the track very well. Not to mention, Noname was amazing on "Only the Beginning". She really killed her verse! My only question is: WHERE DA FAWK IS MICK JENKINS?! I expected a guest appearance from him on this tape. He could've easily snapped on "Sa ve thewo rld" and "Purple Fox Fur".
Overall, I loved Summer Camp. It was a very solid project. The production/sound was amazing, features were on point, the concept was interesting and I really digged theMIND's vocals. I recommend you to check it out. It's so good, and brings a new touch to the R&B genre. Everything is really on point, and has a lot of replay value. I enjoyed the mixtape so much, and it doesn't disappoint. Hardly any problems. Hopefully, theMIND is here to stay and will continue to impress me with more of his solo music.
The Furious 5ive
Only the Beginning
Mercury Rising
Sand Dunes
Sa ve thewo rld
Come Home
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