There aren’t a handful of artists who’ve made use of a recurrent theme in their music that can be summed up in one word, then substituted for an innumerable amount of other words- all with different meanings. Water aficionado and poet Mick Jenkins has used the word “water” as a translation for knowledge, truth, and the absence of close-mindedness, and has done so in different landscapes of sounds and with different collaborators. The Water[s] in 2014 vibrated that, Wave[s] which came shortly after refined it, and [T]he [H]ealing [C]omponent, due September 28th, will add another layer to the metaphor.

Recently, Mick released the first official single of the upcoming project, which was surprising; not in the event, but in the fact that he’s dropped a multitude of tracks over the course of the very hectic year and collaborated with a variety of different artists, most notably the contemporary Jazz Quartet BADBADNOTGOOD. The assumption could’ve been made that all of his past releases would find their way on the album- but it’d be an incorrect assumption.

“Spread Love” has a psychedelic feel to it with hints of future funk (kind of sounds like Toro y Moi produced the track) and accompanies a straightforward message. Along with the release of the track, Mick Jenkins announced a tour that’ll come with the album.

A Quest For Love Tour w/ @RBSoundSelect & @SminoBrown will be all new music… Tix on sale now https://t.co/jcGH8NC3gO pic.twitter.com/OiuHzsTO9k

— spread love (@mickjenkins) August 17, 2016

You can listen to the track below, and download The Water[s] here.

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21 years old. Chicago artist and creator. CEO of NuWorld Records.

Bel-Air might’ve previously been an obscure reference to an obscure artist- one of many in the melting pot of personalities and styles that is the Chicago rap scene- but his new track with fellow Chicago artist Mick Jenkins shows how he pops out from the culture.

Mick has been around for a while, having dropped his mixtape Trees and Truths in 2013, his critically acclaimed tape The Water[s] in 2014, and an experimental solution of emotions and psychedelic sounds in his EP, Wave[s]. He, along with Chance, helped define Chicago rap the long way via their contributions to the culture and the fanbase, and paved the road for other underground Chicago artists like Saba Pivot, Alex Wiley, and Kembe X, amongst others, find their way in the convoluted industry.

Bel-Air comes through with a smooth, fluid track from Donato, a producer who’s spotlight was secured firmly by his sturdy presence on YouTube. Despite coming out of Connecticut, his contributions and stylistic fingerprints can be found on hip-hop production beats that echo Chicago beats, Southern Hip-Hop beats, and Trap beats.

Despite the smooth, and initially somber instrumentation, Bel-Air’s quick to point out the gritty parts of Chicago, an unfortunate facet of the culture which has helped shaped sometimes incorrect opinions of the area. He raps:

“Went to a school where students might bust it out with the teachers/From a city where n**gas might shoot it out with the preachers/Everybody gang-gang and rock the freshest of sneakers”

Mick Jenkins comes through with his characteristic strands of punchlines diluted with sociopolitical substances, a very active trend in all his discography thus far. Lines like: “We paced the ave, never traced the paths/Of n**gas littering hate, n**gas is really snakes/N**gas is really slithering, n**gas is really Snape” shows Mick’s cognizance of the toxicity in Southside Chicago, as well as other lower income areas in the US, and his knowledge of Harry Potter characters.

It’ll be of no surprise if Bel-Air continues to shine through in his environment by expanding his label and snatching up more star-studded artists in and outside of Chicago for more collaborations. You can listen to “Drive Slow” above, check out Bel-Air’s Twitter here, and visit Donato’s beat store here.

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The post Bel-Air’s Fluid New Track, “Drive Slow” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Police can’t keep pulling these triggers, won’t go for that sh*t much longer.

– Mick Jenkins

With such a tumultuous week in the United States, it’s been hard to focus on hip-hop. The racial tension in our country at this time is at a higher level than it’s been in years. One thing that does help, though, is the music. In times like these, our artists serve as a mouth piece to the frustrations and notions that are being felt by the common everyday people. While these situations have been troubling to say the least, we have to come together and find common ground. This is where music comes in. Music brings people together like nothing else in this world — Pokemon Go doesn’t count — and during times like now, we must see the good. So without further a do, we present you this weeks With All Due RESPECT.: 5 Songs You’ve Been Sleeping On featuring tracks from artists such as Mick Jenkins, Malik Burgers and more. Check out the tracks below.

Salomon Faye – “Sexual Kung Fu”

Coming in first is the infectiously smooth track “Sexual Kung Fu” which comes from Brooklyn native Salomon Faye. The 2:13 long track features Faye spitting tranquil bars such as, “I give you all of my all that’s if you want to/ explore rounds of soul and release your whole/ let go of your control of only God knows” over beautifully placed shakers and hi hats. The song, which was a loosie that Faye released in early May, showcases his laid back style in full affect while also keeping that commanding energy. “Sexual Kung Fu” is the perfect track to throw on to get the good vibes going in any setting. Check out the track below and keep an eye on the Big Apple native who released the masterful tape Stimulation mid 2015.

Caterpillar Jones – “WicFoodStampsSocialSecurity (Feat. Luna)”

Las Vegas native Caterpillar Jones hit the nail on the head with this one. Correctly coining it “The Ghetto Nig*a Anthem”, the track “WicFoodStampsSocialSecurity” is a song that anybody who grew up in poverty could relate to. “Go get that milk with that Wic/ Go get them snacks with the food stamps/ You done worked your whole damn live, go pull your social security check” chants Jones and Luna on the chorus over a funky west coast style beat co-produced by Cosmicat and Isaiah D. Coming in off his recent mixtape, Tales From A LTD, “WicFoodStampsSocialSecurity” is a brief lyrical expedition into the lives of everybody on the “life cycle sponsored by the government” as Jones would put it. Check out the track below and be sure to check out Tales From A LTD, you won’t be disappointed.

Malik Burgers – “Pulp Fiction/Hilary Duff”

San Diego native and 1207 group member Malik Burgers comes in next with the incredible banger, “Pulp Fiction/Hilary Duff” off his tape Pulp Fiction. After a long intro reminiscent of “Thriller“, Malik steadily builds anticipation within the track, repeatedly chanting, “I ain’t never hold one back up in this bit*h” before a short pause and a verse for the ages. Burgers attacks the track with full force with bars such as, “I ain’t never had a pot to piss in/Now I’m pissing on the competition” and “Mama think I’m crazy because I’m fuc*ing different/said fu*k school/I can make a living off hard drugs and a fuc*ing lemon”. As you could imagine, the track bangs heavily in a live setting as you can see here. Burgers’ high energy coupled with his creativity and charisma are traits that will propel him to stardom. Keep tabs on Burgers and all of 1207 as they are the next to blow. You heard it here first. Check out the track below and be sure to give Burgers’ tape Pulp Fiction a listen.

BlaccOut Garrison – “Sex On The Floor”

Putting on for Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, BlaccOut Garrison comes in next with his wavy new cut, “Sex On The Floor“. “Sex on the floor/ I’m addicted to your love baby” croons Garrison over a smooth beat from in house TDE producer Chris Calor. The track is a loose one that was released by Garrison over the weekend and features him rapping sobering and thought provoking bars like, “Couch floor/ it’s war when we making love/ biting on your rug/ while you reaching for the rug” and “your body looking like a piece of art/ I love your imperfections, don’t you cover up them marks”. “Sex On The Floor” is a track that you can play while hanging with your lady, or while driving through the streets late at night, it’s versatile. Check out the track below and be sure to check out Garrison’s recent EP, Cranberry Applejuice.

Mick Jenkins – “Sunkissed (Feat. theMIND)

As I stated earlier, racial tension is a real issue at the moment – and in general. While many artists such as Dizzy Wright, The Game, and even Jay-Z have made songs and spoken out against the injustices of police brutality and racism, it was a track from Chicago native Mick Jenkins that captured the exact thoughts of black folks all around the country. “Yall can’t just front on us ni**as no more/ police can’t keep pulling these triggers/ won’t go for that sh*t much longer” raps Jenkins followed by frequent collaborator theMIND echoing those sentiments singing, “You love our style/ you love our skin/ that melanin that melanin that melanin that melanin”. The track shows Jenkin flexing his lyrical chops as he talks about the hypocrisies of racism over a hard hitting futuristic beat from Da-P. “At the forefront of the culture/ how you tryna drive from the backseat?/ more and more vultures coming at we/ racist motherf**ers ain’t happy” Jenkins flows on the track, providing a voice to the voiceless. Anybody with significant interest in the recent events — which should be everyone — will take great enjoyment in this track. Though Jenkins may be far from slept on, this song needs to be heard by more people. Check out the track below.

There you have it! Let us know how we did, did we get it right? Are we still sleeping on your favorite local artist? Let us know in the comment section below!

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The post With All Due RESPECT.: 5 Songs You’ve Been Sleeping On (7/11) appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Meet Maine The Saint. He is an alternative-rap artist. He will be releasing his freshman project Humble Beginnings later this year. This highly anticipated album is followed by the lead single “IDK.” This song features Prop. Both artists are Philadelphia natives.Did you know that they have worked with Mick Jenkins? They have also collaborated on many other projects together.

Think alternative rap and you will likely evoke, Maine The Saint. He has been linked to FREENATION since 2011. “IDK” was produced by Jake J. This track is definitely addictive. Maine The Saint has mastered the art of hip-hop engagement.Check it out below. 

The post New Music: Maine The Saint Feat.Prop-“IDK” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

This past week, the king of H20 himself Mick Jenkins gave a hell of performance at Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro, North Carolina. Alongside Mick included producer/DJ STWO, singer The Mind, Myth Syzer, and rapper JStock. The show started off with some dope mixes from STWO, a couple of songs, some motivational words from JStock, and then, Mick hit the stage to prove to the audience why we should drink more water. The Chicago artist performed songs like “Comfortable,” “Jazz,” “Rain” (my personal favorite), “Perception,” “Ps and Q’s,” and more, while beside him, The Mind contributed his melodic sound and harmonic adlibs to the mic (which were dope as hell). The crowd was extra amped as they shouting out, “Drink more water,” in between each song and Mick eventually even made his own way into the crowd to jump with the audience (it was a cross between choosing to jump and getting trampled). Even though the rapper was semi-ill at the show, he literally made sure everyone was having a good time and that he was giving his all to his devoted fans. After watching him perform and talking to him after the show, it is definitely noticeable that he’s going to keep spreading water, AKA something pure to the game.

The post Mick Jenkins Gives Wavy Performance in North Carolina appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

On the inspiration behind Wave[s]:

“Wave[s] was something that was inspired by not wanting to alter the music to fit a concept. But wanting to allow the music to stand as we felt or we recorded it. That was the goal with Wave[s], we wanted to create feelings. It was originally going to be called Feels but to stick with the water concept, I called it Wave[s]. We wanted to pay attention to doing something different with the sound and exploring elements of music that we thought would make things more fun and felt as opposed to just heard.”

On the album artwork by Hayveyah McGowan:

“I’m a person who didn’t give a lot of time to artwork for songs. Looking at the music and how we were trying to elevate the quality of that, we felt like we needed to elevate the quality of the artwork as well. So Hayveyah, I enlisted and commissioned pieces from by sending her the music at a very early stage. One song at a time so she wouldn’t get distracted by the others and had her paint to the music based on what she felt.

On working with Kaytranada for “Your Love”:

“Your Love” artwork created by Hayveyah McGowan

On the inspiration behind “Alchemy”:

Alchemy – by Hayveyah McGowan

Hayveyah on creating “Alchemy” Artwork:

“It [Alchemy] was really heavy with the metaphors so I felt like I needed to be more conceptual with this piece at the time. I was studying Egyptian art and the study of pyramids and how they connected to the sun.”

On working together:

“I didn’t really tell her anything at all. I would just be like ‘Make sure you’re listening to this song only when you paint’. She’d be asking me questions and I’d be like ‘Is that what you want to do?’ [Laughs] I really wanted it to be completely up to her. So whenever I got paintings back , luckily I loved them, but even if I didn’t I wouldn’t have been like ‘Oh, we need to do this one again’. I really wanted it to be her interpretation of whatever she felt.”

Wave[s] is now available for purchase on iTunes. Hayveyah McGowan’s artwork is available here.

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