I'm not one to like political approaches in music, unless they are coming from a well-educated lyricist or someone who has another background in the field. I probably would would have been more inclined to speak about five years ago, but with our nation's very touchy sensitivity to media, I choose to leave music and politics divided. However, today I break that barrier not with my own words, but by sharing those of Chicago rapper Mick Jenkins.
Mick's new drop of "11" is an almost spoken-word track, with some of the wittiest, most clever rhymes I've heard on this intense of a song. Without going into too much here, the song touches on America's latest controversies and protests, and defines a clear opinion on Mick's behalf. Towards the beginning of the track, Mick says "The system is the attack of the clones / know they know how I'm livin' by geotaggin' photos on phones / all under the watchful eyes of drones." He continues to say with even more passion, "They know that we the commerce / from comment to converse, to Kanye to Complex and Converse to greed."
"11" is a harsh awakening for many, but also a solid reason why Jenkins is one of the best on the come up. Take a listen below:
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Mick Jenkins
"11"
- December 27