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I’ve been wanting to review this project for a minute now, and I’m not exactly sure why it’s taken so long for me to start this shit. I really enjoyed his breakout mixtape, The Water[s], but for whatever reason I wasn’t really blown away by it. It’s grown on me even more ever since I reviewed it tho. I think I may have underrated it. It doesn’t really matter tho. That review kinda sucked anyway. I’m really excited for this project tho. I actually really like Mick Jenkins. He’s really grown on me as an MC. I was kinda hoping that he wouldn’t tryna stick to this water theme, but it’s not really that big of a deal. I think that if he doesn’t think of a different theme by the time he releases an album, then the water shit can get a little old. That thankfully hasn’t happened yet tho. Maybe he can have an album called The Fire[s] or something. And then he could release an EP called Flame[s]. I don’t know tho. Lemme quit dickin’ around and start the actual project now.

Track 1: Alchemy (Prod. Lee Bannon & THEMpeople)

All of the artwork for this project is pretty dope. Okay, the song is starting now. Oh shit. I’m getting excited. The fucking production. Oh my fucking God. This fucking beat is incredible. It really sounds like water too. I feel like I’m underwater. It’s the way they put this reverb on everything. It’s like instead of actual drums they’re just using splashes for the percussion. This fucking production is incredible. It’s dark & watery. I fucking love this beat.

Goddamn. I’m only half a minute in and this fucking production has already got me doin’ the Cosby face. This is incredible. Okay, he’s goin’ in now. I really gotta shoutout Lee Bannon & THEMpeople tho. This production is fucking immaculate. Alright, let’s get into this verse now. Goddamn. Mick is fuckin’ killin’ shit. “I think I’m a alchemist, and it’s gon’ take courage no cowardly dogs in the pound.” When he fuckin’ says “pound,” the bass comes in and this shit is just bananas. I don’t even know how to describe it. This is musical liquid. It seriously sounds like water. I feel like I’m underwater. The beat just sounds big. It sounds huge. I feel like I’m sinking. I feel like I’m about to jackknife off of the Empire State Building into the middle of the Pacific Ocean at midnight. That hollow reverb makes me feel like I’m in a fucking submarine. I don’t know if being in a submarine would be a good thing. I definitely like it in this case tho. This song is fucking incredible. I don’t know what else to say. This is some of the best production I’ve heard all year. It makes me think of fuckin’ video games for some reason. I don’t know why. It’s just one dope ass verse over a fucking incredible beat. This song is bananas. Fuckin’ love this shit. I should have got myself a water bottle for this review or something. My dumbass got a glass of orange-mango juice. Smh. Whatever. This song is fucking incredible. It’s absolutely dope af. I definitely fuck with this shit, and you should too. It’s okay if you don’t tho. I guess. This was a fucking incredible intro. I love this song. 5/5

Track 2: Slumber Feat. Saba & Sean Deaux (Prod. Donnie Trumpet & THEMpeople)

I’m assuming Sean Deaux is related to Jean Deaux. It would be pretty weird if they just had similar names by coincidence, but that’s neither here nor there. The song’s starting now. This beat’s dope. The percussion sounds a little disjointed at first, but once Mick’s verse starts, it all comes together pretty nicely. The hook is cool. It sounds a little… I don’t know what word to use… Crowded? It sounds like there’s a little bit too much going on. Mick did his thing on the first verse. Saba’s goin’ in now. He did his thing. It wasn’t an amazing verse or anything, but he held his own alongside Mick Jenkins. Sean Deaux’s singin’ on the outro. He actually sounds pretty good. Donnie Trumpet did his thing too. These horns sound pretty good. The percussion was a little overbearing at times, but the production was pretty solid for the most part. It’s not a great song, but I enjoyed it. It’s good. I fuck with it. This song is dope. 4/5

Track 3: Get Up Get Down (Prod. Stefen Ponce & THEMpeople)

This beat sounds a lot more luxurious and poppy than the other shit that Mick usually rhymes over. That’s not really a bad thing tho. It’s still a great beat. This is just a lot catchier than most of the shit he usually makes. It doesn’t really sound that watery, aside from the bubbling bass line in the background. The hook is really catchy. It actually kinda sounds like an 80s club hit to me. Oh, the watery aesthetic returns once Mick starts goin’ in. The reverb & splash sound effects are back. They aren’t awkwardly jammed in for no reason. They don’t sound forced at all. Oh man. This shit sounds so good when the verse ends and those drip sound effects come in. Damn. This is great. The first half of this song doesn’t really sound like the Mick Jenkins most of his fans are used to, but once the verse starts everything’s back to normal. I still really enjoyed it even though it was different. It’s really cool how they used different pitches of a drip sound effect as a substitute for actual piano keys too. This shit is dope af to me. I fuck with this. Okay, I’m finna check out the music video now. Eh. It’s not really a bad video, but it’s just not that interesting. It’s just three kids dancing to the song. The music video was average at best, but this song is dope af. I fuck with this shit. 5/5

Track 4: Your Love (Prod. Kaytranada)

Woah. This sounds really different so far. I’m only thirteen seconds in, and all I’ve heard from Mick is “Do you feel it?” I can already tell from the way he said that shit that this song isn’t gonna be super atmospheric and moody like his other shit. Damn. This beat is actually really fuckin’ dope. It sounds like it has a slight funk influence. Not nearly as much To Pimp A Butterfly. I guess this would be more old school R&B. Mick is singin’ right now and it actually sounds really good to me. “I want to love you / I want to love you / I want your love, love, love, love, love, love, love.” Lyrically, this is just as sugary & sappy as most old school R&B songs, but it’s just so catchy that I can’t help but like it. You can also tell that he isn’t taking himself too seriously, which helps a lot too. I don’t usually like love songs, but this is really good. Hahaha. This music video is fucking great too. This is really entertaining. That chick he’s chasing is bad af, and if it wasn’t clear enough in the first place, the video helps the listener realize that this song isn’t meant to be taken too seriously.

The way he’s dancing in front of this random ass chick who has no idea what the fuck is goin’ on is pretty funny. The song is dope af and so is the music video. I definitely fuck with this shit. 5/5

Track 5: Piano (Prod. THEMpeople)

Goddamn. This beat is dope af. The percussion sounds so fucking good over this primary loop. Mick has kind of a sing songy delivery on the hook. It’s dope. I forgot to mention that Your Love really didn’t have that watery aesthetic that I mentioned before, and neither does this song. The hook is pretty catchy. There’s really only one verse and then a bridge, which actually lasts longer than the verse. The song could’ve used a longer verse, but it’s not bad. This is just a chill ass song that you can relax to. This song would probably be dope af to you if you were stoned like a motherfucker. I don’t smoke, but I still enjoyed this. It’s dope to me. The lack of a more substantial verse just leaves it feeling a bit skeletal. It’s not horrible tho. I fuck with this. 4/5

Track 6: The Giver (Prod. THEMpeople)

This beat has kind of an electronic sound. It sounds like it may have a very slight Kanye West influence. Mick’s singin’ on the hook isn’t that bad, but the actual melody itself just isn’t that great. It’s not bad tho. Mick’s rapping now. I feel like I haven’t heard him rap in a long time. I mean, he was rapping on the last few tracks, but he’s really goin’ in on this one. His flow is a lot more aggressive here. The hook is alright. The beat is cool. The first verse is dope. Fuck. There’s only one verse. Well, it was still dope. I fuck with this song. It’s dope. 4/5

Track 7: 40 Below (Prod. THEMpeople)

Oh fuckin’ shit. This production. This production is fucking incredible. God fuckin’ damn. This beat is bananas. This sounds a lot more like 808s & Heartbreak. This beat is fucking great. Goddamn. THEMpeople needs more placements. This shit is crazy. Mick’s goin’ in about some chick that left his ass. “How she got so cold?” This shit is fucking great. This isn’t the most interesting topic for a song, but Mick did it well. He’s rapping a lot more about relationships and shit on this project. That’s cool I guess. He did it well. This song is dope af. He’s still singing a lot, but it sounds great over this production. This shit is fucking great. I definitely fuck with this. The outro sounds like fuckin’ NES music too. Goddamn. 5/5

Track 8: Ps & Qs (Prod. Kaytranada)

This beat is dope af. I don’t usually like stringed instruments, but this shit sounds really good. Goddamn. He’s spittin’ for real on this one. There’s no singin’. Not yet at least. Goddamn. Mick Jenkins is fuckin’ killin’ shit. What the fuck? Goddamn. He’s fucking going the fuck in. Jesus. Oh my God. Like every other word has a P or a Q in it. “Peep this nigga passion, I’m not picking him to quit / Watch him paint, ain’t it quaint? / All that presence in his pen, he be pearlin’ all that wisdom, all that pressure be to sin.” His delivery is getting more and more energetic. Oh my God. I knew this motherfucker could spit, but this shit definitely proves that he’s one of the best. He’s rapping his motherfucking ass off. This is fucking insane. Goddamnit. It’s gonna be so hard to choose a favorite song. “They not even in my peripheral, pray I keep it proper / ‘Cause they play it so political, the petty is so pitiful / Niggas Peter Pettigrew, I’m of a higher pedigree / I’m peddling this penmanship, appreciate the pleasantries.” I don’t fucking believe this shit. This is fucking bonkers. He fucking ripped this shit to shreds. I counted 111 Ps & 22 Qs. Goddamn. Lemme see this music video real quick. It was cool. Not amazing or anything, but it was dope. It seems like it was hard to make. I’m not amazed tho. It wasn’t as good as the song, which was dope af. It was pretty cool tho. The song is without question dope af. I absolutely fuck with this shit right here. 5/5

Track 9: Perception Feat. theMIND (Prod. Mulatto & THEMpeople)

This should be dope. Everything theMIND did on The Water[s] was great. The primary loop for this beat sounds kinda like a more abstract and experimental version of Rain, which was an unreleased cut from The Water[s]. It’s dope af. Mick’s goin’ in now. Goddamn. He fuckin’ killed that verse. This is really fuckin’ good. This hook is great too. I think that’s just Mick singin’. theMIND must be in the background or something. I can’t really tell. Oh, theMIND is on the bridge. This is great. This song is dope af. I fuck with this shit. 5/5

Final Thoughts:

That shit was actually dope af. A lot of fans were disappointed by this project, so I think I might be in the minority on this one, but I thought that this shit was dope af. I guess I can understand why some people were disappointed. It really seems to lose the watery aesthetic after the third track, and he does rap a lot about relationships and shit, which I’m not too crazy about. He does it really well tho, so I don’t mind that shit as much as the former complaint. One of the best things about The Water[s] was Mick’s ability to maintain such a versatile theme. He doesn’t really do that on this project, and part of me thinks that it’s intentional. I mean, it was such an integral part of his breakout project, so he had to have known that fans would expect more of that for this one. I thought that he was trying to move away from that water label, but his upcoming album—which I’m really looking forward to by the way—is apparently called “The Healing Component,” so I guess I should just go ahead and throw that idea out the window. I guess this was just a quick experiment that he wanted to get outta the way before going back to his more well known sound for the album. That’s cool I guess. I enjoyed this project a lot, but I probably will be disappointed if he doesn’t stick to the water theme for his album. I said earlier that it would probably get old by that time, but after hearing this project, I just want more of it, so I guess I was wrong. This project is great. THEMpeople is a really good production group. I’m assuming it’s more than one person, but I don’t know for sure. I hope they stick around for the album. I also hope theMIND is involved too. This is a great project tho. This is probably one of the best Hip Hop EPs of 2015. It’s dope af. Also, the girl in the Your Love music video was apparently Jean Deaux. That’s one badass chick for real.

Favorite Song: Ps & Qs

Least Favorite Song: Slumber

Verdict:

93%

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