Just My Thoughts: Mick Jenkins' path since "The Healing Component"

Yeah... we need to talk about Mick Jenkins... and honestly, I don't know how to feel about how things have been going for him these past two years.

In 2014, Chicago rapper Mick Jenkins released his fourth mixtape The Water[s]. Although his last project, Trees & Truths, sparkled a bit of buzz for him, it was this project that gave Mick a major breakthrough, with many recognizing him as a rising artist in the game. The mixtape was heavily praised for its great lyricism and Mick's solid execution of his "water" theme; being seen as one of the top projects of what many thought was a dry year.

Fast forward four years later to the present day, and it seems Mick's name has slowly faded to irrelevancy, especially regarding his newer music. The same ones that were saying "eyyyy, I can't wait for this new water to sip" on YouTube comment sections back in 2015, I can't seem to find them like I used to. It's more about Saba, Noname and them lot, who gives a shit about a Mick Jenkins these days? While Wave[s] received mixed to positive feedback from fans the year after The Water[s] dropped, it wasn't until the release of his debut album The Healing Component, where the criticism was a lot more harsher, with fans expressing a lot of disappointment towards the long-awaited debut. Personally, I loved it during my first few listens, but overtime, it started to lack replay value and that was when the flaws started to spark out more. My main issue with that album was the fact the "love" concept wasn't executed well, like how he did with The Water[s], which made it come across a bit too preachy. Not to mention, it seemed his lyricism was lacking too in certain moments. It's sad to think about how better the album could've been, especially when considering the fact that the throwaways he put out earlier that year before the album shitted all over most of the album.
But it seems that Mick has been trying to find his foot again, and I've actually been paying attention to that lately. He's dropped two little projects, part of a series called or more, which is a showcase of ideas and concepts inspiring his next full-length project. The lyricism has improved over those two projects, in comparison to THC, but however, a few problems still happen to arise.

One of those problems is the replay value. I remember in last year's top list I did, I had or more; the anxious in my top 10. I personally felt it was a great teaser to whatever he had in store in the future, and the songs were sounding pretty nice, especially "Energies" and "Vampire in Brooklyn". However, recently, it hasn't been something I've been going back to often, not like I could with The Water[s] or even Wave[s]. But it still remains a decent project, and probably slightly better replay value than the second installment of the or more series, The Frustration.

or more... the frustration is... ok, I guess. It's not as strong as the former project, but still has its moments including "Rags" and "Go Time". I remember before the project got announced, Mick Jenkins went on a rant, expressing his frustrations with writer's block and dealing with criticism since THC. I can understand that tho, especially considering how he was hyping the album up and felt he was putting his all into it until fans said they felt disappointed when the project actually dropped. A main reason The Frustration has the least replay value out of the two is that the songs are too short. That issue never felt like a problem for me with The Anxious, and even the overall length of that tape was a few minutes shorter. Songs like "Go Time", "Walk Different" and "Same Ol'" could've worked as 3 to 4-minute banging cuts on that EP. If Mick continued to go OFF on "Walk Different", it would've been insane, but the verse faded away too early, man, I was pissed! That beat was way too hard, as well.


Which leads me to talk about Mick's newest single, "Bruce Banner". Serving as the first single from his upcoming second album Pieces of a Man, it was premiered on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 radio show just last week, with the concept of the track to show off his hunger and lyricism. Mick said he took a lot of time last year and this year to reflect heavily on his path musically, especially after his last album. I came across a few people who were real harsh on Mick's new single, having a issue with his bold statement of how "nobody can come for him expect Kendrick", but outside of that, it was sounding pretty nice to me, mainly after a few listens. It seemed Mick was getting back in his bag, but the only problem I had was his flow and delivery. It came across too forced, and didn't really suit him. This ain't the first time he tried utilizing flows like that, he used a similar but even worse delivery on "C is for Cash Money", which continued off the same vein as one of his best songs "P's & Q's". Because of that, I tried so hard to love that song, but his delivery was so off, especially during his first verse. Had me wondering if he was trying to do some spoken word shit or something.

So yeah, Mick Jenkins' music since The Healing Component has been... something. There certainly has been a few issues that have arisen, whether it's the replay value or the lyricism, or even the production. At the moment, it feels like Mick is on very thin ice regarding his musical and lyrical directions, but he still remains a great rapper, and he was delivering hella hard from Trees & Truths to Wave[s]. The passion is still there, the pen game is still on point at the moment, but there's still something missing with his new music. If he happens to keep the same hunger from "Bruce Banner" (minus the delivery), along with some nice production on his new album dropping likely later this Autumn, I still have hopes he could impress us with a solid piece of work this year, instead of another underwhelming effort like last time. Maybe he can make most of us remember why we loved him in the first place, especially for those who have written him off recently and don't discuss him anymore...

Little Brother - ...and justus for all

Originally released: February 13, 2007
CD version release: July 1, 2008

Being a big fan of Little Brother, I'm kinda surprised that I haven't reviewed their projects in a while. I was expecting myself to have this album reviewed during the Autumn of 2016. But then again, I finally got around and listened to this album like late last year, ha.

Anyway, let's go through a quick recap. The North Carolina trio, consisting of Phonte, Rapper Big Pooh & producer 9th Wonder, released their sophomore album The Minstrel Show back in September 2005. Capitalizing off the acclaim they were receiving from the album, LB were continuing to be consistent with the new music, as they were working on their third album. March 2006 saw the release of the DJ Drama-hosted mixtape Separate but Equal, which was the last project from the duo/trio that I reviewed. However, just after the tape, LB turned from a trio from a duo, with 9th Wonder leaving to fully pursue his solo career.

In February 2007, Little Brother released what was basically their first project as a duo, ...and justus for all. Serving as another prelude to their then-upcoming third album Getback, the mixtape was hosted by DJ Mick Boogie, featuring a compilation of original tracks, freestyles, remixes and songs both Phonte & Rapper Big Pooh featured on individually and together. This was also the first project with no production from 9th at all, outside of the "Cross That Line" and "Let It Go" remixes. In July 2008, almost a year after Getback, the no DJ version was released to retailers, omitting the skits, freestyles and all that; also featuring two tracks that were released during the Getback promo run. I preferred to go with this version, rather than the original mixtape version, obviously giving a better first listen than if I were to go with the original. And you know what... it's actually pretty decent.

...and justus for all is one of the projects I'd rank almost at the bottom of Little Brother's discography, which says a lot because the mixtape is actually a bit decent, there are just a few more flaws. The lack of 9th Wonder production is definitely something that can put a lot of fans off, especially if they're going into Little Brother's later projects post-Minstrel Show. But the duo sure do hold their own over various production from those including Khrysis, Nottz, Oddisee, Focus... and DJ Spinna. Just like their last tape Separate but Equal, the mixtape is more strictly rapping, with no proper concept like their first two albums. "Can't Stop Us" is the opening track, which gets us straight into the point of the whole project's mood. Chaundon is a feature on this song, and he delivers pretty hard, while the instrumental from Young Cee is something real hardhitting but smooth. "Delusional" features both a guest appearance and production from Oddisee, and is more of a smooth radio-friendly groove, which sees all 3 rap about how mesmerized they feel towards the girls they're eyeing. Phonte brings out his vocals for the catchy ass hook, and he does his thing real smooth on that.

The bad moments are pretty much forgettable as hell, and these include the solo Pooh joints, "Lose It" and "Stylin", but damn, do the good moments hit real hard!! "Life of the Party" originally appeared on the Hall of Justus compilation album back in '06, but it's still such a banger on this tape as well. The song is remixed with a verse from underground rapper Skillz and he does his thing on it. Other than that, it's just a song you can easily groove to, thanks to the hard ass Nottz beat. "Cool as a Fan" and "The Pressure" are both two of my favourite songs on the mixtape, with production from the one and only Khrysis. both sees the duo touching on their new-found success since The Minstrel Show, especially Phonte's verses. "Never Leave" has actually grown on me a bit, and I enjoy it a lot more than I did the first few times hearing it. Both Pooh and 'Te were spitting hard on that song too. Phonte & Tanya Morgan member Von Pea link up for "A Word from Our Sponsors", which is a solid showcase of the two doing what they do best. Von Pea's verse was nice, but as usual, 'Te stole the show with his bars. "Do It to Death" is another highlight, which features Supastition & Rhymefest, and it bangs so hard at the gym too. All four rappers deliver pretty well, especially Rhymefest; and the beat is so mesmerizing, it's crazy! By track 11 of the tape, it does fall real flat though, with weaker moments such as "Fan Mail", "Lose It" and "Stylin'". The remix of "Cross That Line" with Kardinal Offishall wasn't necessary for me, and the original was one of my favourites off Separate but Equal as well. The last track, "Time of Your Life" was lowkey hitting though.

In conclusion, ...and justus for all fully marks the start of Little Brother's career as a duo, and makes for a decent prelude to their next album. The production was hitting most of the time (from track 1 to 10 though), the chemistry between Pooh & Phonte was still on point, and 'Te especially was definitely delivering some hot fire in his verses, just like he's been doing since the group's debut. However, unlike their past projects like The Chittlin' Circuit and even Separate but Equal, there are a few more weaker and forgettable moments, which does affect the project's replay value. Don't worry though, the actual album Getback is way better than this, but I do appreciate this mixtape being something for fans at that time to hold them over until Getback dropped. I'd rank this at the bottom tho, not only is it the weakest mixtape they've done, it's even their weakest project overall. But hey, it is what it is...

Recommended Tracks: "Cool as a Fan", "The Pressure", "Delusional", "Can't Stop Us", "Do It to Death", "Never Leave", "Life of the Party", "Too Late for Us", "Time of Your Life", "Best Kept Secret"