Mick Jenkins

About

Also known as: Jayson Andrew Jenkins

Mick Jenkins, born Jayson Andrew Jenkins, built his reputation in Chicago's hip hop scene on the strength of his lyricism and a willingness to go somewhere most rappers don't. His 2014 project The Waters put him on the map, centering its whole concept around water as a metaphor for truth, and it drew praise from across the hip hop world, including Timbaland reaching out directly. The single "Martyrs" before it showed exactly what Jenkins does well: weaving sharp observations about gun violence and societal pressure into something genuinely hook driven. His debut studio album The Healing Component from 2016 pushed further into jazz influenced territory, with BADBADNOTGOOD providing instrumentation on the standout track "Drowning", a song that directly references the death of Eric Garner. The album uses the recurring theme of love, from the personal to the political, threaded together with dialogue from his sister. Jenkins is signed to Cinematic Music Group and has collaborated with Saba, Chance the Rapper, Vic Mensa, and Kaytranada along the way.