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This album was released on September 23rd this year. Ab-Soul’s upcoming album was supposed to be my most anticipated project for this year, but at this rate I don’t know if we’ll be getting it before 2017. So I guess THIS is my most anticipated album of the year now. Mick Jenkins is currently my favorite artist out of Chicago, and, as I said in my review of The Water[s], if this album is as good as I’m hoping it is, Mick will probably replace Joey Bada$$ in the list of my 10 current favorite rappers. I loved The Water[s], and as a whole I think I liked Wave[s] even more. Hopefully this album is even better than those projects. I’ve been hearing a lot of great things about this album, so I’m really expecting it to be dope af. Every song is produced by THEMpeople, except where noted.

Track 1: The Healing Component (Co-Prod. Rascal)

Alright, here we go. It’s starting now. The track starts off with a short excerpt of a conversation between Mick and some girl. Mick starts going in as soon as the beat comes on. I usually don’t like really abrupt intros to songs like this, but that’s just a nitpick. Holy FUCK. WOO. Goddamn. This beat is insane, and Mick’s flow is amazing. GOTDAMN. He fucking murdered that first verse. Hahaha. Yes. YES. Holy fuck, this is so dope. I love the horns that come in during the hook. Holy FUCK. This hook is catchy as fuck. I can already tell that Mick really put a lot of effort into this album. This is awesome. He’s killin’ this shit. “Why is praising mediocrity such a skill? / It bothers me when these niggas with moms below poverty lines get to play like they Socrates / I play like apostrophes; I mean I’m over the words, unless they verbs / That’s when we see curves like sundresses in June.” There are a lot of biblical references, but it feels a lot more subtle & substantive and less gratuitous than the shit on Coloring Book. Coloring Book just felt like Chance exaggerating his love for God and saying “God is amazing” over and over again. I have a feeling that this album will have a lot more depth lyrically. I love this song. This is dope af. 5/5

Track 2: Spread Love (Prod. Sango)

This was the first single from this album. I’m pretty sure I listened to this song when it came out, and I liked it. I don’t really remember tho. It’s starting now. This beat is SMOOOOTHER than a MOTHERfucker. Good fucking lord. It sounds like a heavier, less flowery version of something that would’ve been on Telefone. This beat is gorgeous. The first verse was dope. Mick’s flow was fantastic. The hook is smooth as hell. The second verse was great too. The hook lasts REALLY long tho… I feel like he spent more time singin’ the hook than rapping. I still like the song tho. It has an incredible beat, a smooth, albeit longwinded hook, and two great verses. This is dope. 4/5

Track 3: Daniel’s Bloom (Prod. Sango & Atu)

This beat is really dope. I could see this being on Cilvia Demo. I’ve been seeing a lot of people compare Isaiah Rashad & Mick Jenkins with each other recently. I don’t know if people have always been comparing them or if it started just recently. I don’t really think they’re that similar tho. I mean, sometimes their production styles can be similar, but that’s pretty much it. Maybe I’d agree with the comparisons more if I’d never heard The Sun’s Tirade. With all that said, I think they could make a really dope song if they collaborated with each other. Zay would sound great over this beat. The first verse was dope af. I love the way the production sounded like it was getting darker and more menacing towards the end of the verse. Hmm. Actually, you know what? I actually DO understand the Mick Jenkins & Isaiah Rashad comparisons. They obviously don’t sound exactly alike, but they kinda have similar styles sonically. The hook on this track is really smooth. He killed the second verse too. This is another great song. Pretty much everything I said about the previous track can be said for this one. This is dope af. 5/5

Track 4: Strange Love (Co-Prod. Dee Lilly)

This track opens up with Mick explaining to that girl that he wants to be more like Jesus by “spreading love.” I don’t believe in Jesus, but I can get behind the message that Mick is trying to spread. This beat is dope. The first verse was really good. “All these racist motherfuckers out here raping the culture / On the lowest of keys, they sowing hate for ourselves / Then throw bait to kill and appropriate / They vultures; ain’t immune to reproach / Have your fucking hands up if you choose to approach us / Fuck around with the fuck around; we still might shoot.” He tore that first verse apart. This hook isn’t bad. It lasts really long. I feel like most of the hooks on this album have been really longwinded so far; this one’s really dope lyrically tho. The way he’s talking about love kinda reminds me of that Strange Fruit song by Billie Holiday. Kinda. That song is fucking incredible by the way. I can’t really fuck with it sonically, but the lyrics are amazing. This beat kinda reminds me of To Pimp A Butterfly. Dog… If Kendrick hopped on the fucking remix?? GotDAMN that’d be awesome. Hmm… Now that I think about it, I’ll be shocked if Kendrick & Mick don’t end up collaborating in the near future because this album is really similar to Kendrick’s music so far. The production is really jazzy, and he’s talking about how important love is. They also both have a lot of biblical references in their music. Oh SHIT. That drop on the outro is SMOOOTHER than a MOTHERFUCKER. This is a really dope track. I fuck with this. 4/5

Track 5: This Type Love?

Hmm… I can’t find the production credits for this track. Maybe it’s just a skit. Okay, yeah I think this is a skit. Yup. It’s just the continuation of the conversation that Mick is having with that girl. It almost reminds me of the To Pimp A Caterpillar poem; the only difference is that it doesn’t start over at the end of every track. It’s also way less interesing. In this part of the conversation they’re just discussing the idea that there are different ways to love someone. I’m not gonna rate this track since it isn’t a song.

Track 6: Drowning (Prod. BADBADNOTGOOD)

I think this was the last single he dropped before this album actually came out. It also has probably the best music video I’ve seen all year. This might actually be my favorite song on the album so far. It’s one of the best fusions of Jazz & Hip Hop that I’ve heard since To Pimp A Butterfly. BADBADNOTGOOD did a fantastic job with the production. Mick’s vocals on the first half are surprisingly good. I never thought he was a bad singer, but I didn’t think he’d be able to do it so much without it sounding stale. I honestly wouldn’t even have minded if he didn’t rap at all on this track because he sounded great. That’s not to say that his rapping didn’t add to this track at all; I just still would’ve really liked this song even if it wasn’t here. He killed that verse tho. This is definitely one of the best songs on the album so far. This is dope af. 5/5

Track 7: As Seen In Bethsaida Feat. theMIND

I’m really looking forward to this since every other collaboration between theMIND and Mick Jenkins has been great. This beat is dope af. The hook from theMIND is pretty good. I kinda hope that isn’t his only contribution to this track tho because it was kinda underwhelming to be honest. I liked it, but I think he could’ve done more. GOTDAMN this beat is crazy. There’s only one verse from Mick. It’s really good tho. The song just ended. Damn. I wish theMIND had a bigger presence on this track. This is the shortest track on the album aside from This Type Love? and it kinda feels like an interlude. I enjoyed it, but it kinda feels a little undercooked compared to a lot of the other tracks so far. It’s still dope tho. 4/5

Track 8: Communicate Feat. Ravyn Lenae (Prod. Kaytranada)

This beat is dope af. It sounds like something that would’ve been on 99.9%. I guess that goes without saying. It sounds kinda similar to Track Uno from that album. The subject matter on this track doesn’t really do much for me, but Mick had a dope flow on the first verse, and Ravyn Lenae sounds pretty good on the hook too. The song is pretty much done after the first recital of the hook. I mean, there’s a bridge in which Mick & Ravyn ask “Are you down with me, my love?” but I’d be lying if I said that it really added anything to my enjoyment of this track. I enjoyed the song tho. The beat is dope af, and Ravyn did a really good job with the hook. This is dope to me. 4/5

Track 9: Plugged (Prod. IAMNOBODI)

This beat is smoother than fuck. The hook is pretty good. The first verse was dope. This feels a lot more complete than the past few tracks. I feel like it’s been forever since I’ve heard a track with more than one verse on this album. The second verse was really dope. Hmm… I don’t know. Is this track dope af or just dope? I don’t have any problems with it, but at the same time it didn’t blow me away like some of the other tracks on this album did. Eh. Fuck it. This is just dope to me. 4/5

Track 10: 1000 Xans Feat. theMIND (Prod. Kaytranada)

This beat is cool I guess. The first verse from Mick wasn’t bad. The hook from theMIND is dope af. I definitely like his work on this song more than his hook on As Seen In Bethsaida. Again, his contribution to that song wasn’t bad, but this one is a lot more interesting & entertaining in my opinion. The second verse was really dope. I… I can’t figure out whether or not this is my favorite track. I really love the hook, and I was kinda underwhelmed by the production at first, but the more I listen to the beat the more I like it. Mick’s verses were really good too. I think if Kendrick was gonna be featured on this album anywhere this’d be a good choice. TheMIND really added a lot to this track. I don’t know if I’d like it as much as I do if he wasn’t here. This is dope af to me. 5/5

Track 11: Prosperity Feat. theMIND

Oh shit? Is that theMIND on the first verse? It sounds more like Spoken Word than normal rapping. He’s not really flowing over this beat that well, but it still sounds really good for some reason. It sounds intentional. It doesn’t sound like a mistake. I really liked his verse. Mick fucking murdered that second verse. His flow was awesome. The third verse from him was fantastic too. He was rappin’ his ass off. Jesus fucking Christ. How the fuck am I gonna pick a favorite song? Fuck. I guess it’s a good thing if I’m getting frustrated by how much I like the album. This beat is dope af, I loved the intro verse from theMIND, the hook is pretty good, and Mick snapped on both of his verses. This is dope af to me. 5/5

Track 12: Fall Through (Co-Prod. Rascal)

Good fucking lord. The pro-DUCTION on this album is fucking intoxicating. The first verse was dope. I’m really surprised by how good the hooks on this album are. I guess the hooks on The Water[s] were pretty good. I really liked the hooks on Wave[s] too. I just wouldn’t expect him to be this capable of a singer. Oh my GAWD. The way the production evolves for the second verse is absolutely unbelievable. GOTDAMN. This beat is fucking amazing. Those weird ass sound effects are so fucking dope. God, man… Lmao. This is another song that Kendrick would sound good on. I love this track. This is dope af to me. 5/5

Track 13: Love, Robert Horry Feat. J-Stock

Oh shit… Oh FUCK. Oh FUUUCK. THIS BEAT IS FUCKING INCREDIBLE. The production on this album is fucking gorgeous. The first verse from Mick was pretty good. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of this J-Stock guy. I hate when rappers’ names are “J-(Insert One Syllable)” or “J. (Insert One Syllable).” It’s just super generic to me. I guess it applies to any letter, but it seems like they do it with J the most. His verse was really good tho. I like this song, but it’s not really blowing me away like a lot of the other tracks. I guess the beat was amazing. The verses were really good too, but I just feel like this one doesn’t have as much replay value for me. I don’t know why; maybe it has something to do with the more simplistic song structure. This song is just two verses with no hook or anything. I usually like songs like that, but when I compare this to the other tracks it’s just not as good to me. I still really like it tho. This is dope to me. 4/5

Track 14: Angles Feat. Noname & Xavier Omär (Co-Prod. Monte Booker & Cam O’Bi)

This beat is pretty cool. The hook from Xavier Omär isn’t bad. Ab-Soul would sound really good over this beat. I guess any rapper could sound good over a beat like this. It’s really chill. The first verse from Mick was dope. Noname’s verse was great. Her flow was really nice. This is probably the best flow I’ve ever heard from her if I’m bein’ real. The song just ended. I liked it. This is good to me. I don’t have any problems with this one at all. This is dope to me. 4/5

Track 15: Fucked Up Outro Feat. Michael Anthony (Prod. Dpat)

This beat is cool. Hmm… It sounds kinda familiar… I think I know where the sample comes from, but I’m not exactly sure… Lemme check… Uhh… I don’t know. I can’t confirm this, but I’m pretty sure the sample is an older song by Mick Jenkins called 11. Michael Anthony is singing on the intro right now. He sounds pretty good. “I’m someone with influence who’ll use that to better the youth / And that don’t make me better than you, but as far as this rap shit goes / Drake ain’t holding down Quentin Miller / Why the fuck would I ever give any credit to you?” The first verse was dope. He’s got a really toned down, laid back flow on this one. The hook gets the job done. The second verse was really dope. This track ends with Mick explaining that the idea of love being the healing component came to him because of Jesus. Ugh… Whatever. I fuck with this song. 4/5

Final Thoughts:

This album is fucking great. The fucking production is absolutely magnificent, and Mick Jenkins was rapping his fucking ass off the whole time as always. This is definitely one of my favorite albums of the year so far. However, despite my personal love for this project, I still feel like it’s heavily flawed. First of all, this album is a bit long. It’s just over an hour. I liked every song tho, so it was never too bad. My biggest gripe with this album is definitely the concept of The Healing Component. I just don’t find it as interesting as the concept behind The Water[s]. It’s not like Mick Jenkins is the first rapper to talk about love and positivity in his music anyway. I also feel like he’s kinda pigeonholing himself by making all of his music about love. When he did The Water[s] there was a wide range of emotions throughout that whole project; with this one I feel like I only got happiness and positivity. There’s no anger on this album. There’s no fear. I hope this isn’t what all of Mick’s music is gonna be like from now on. I don’t wanna hear The Healing Component, Pt. 2. I feel like he pretty much said everything he can say about love. If he does end up making another concept album, I hope it’s different from this. I don’t think I should be worrying about that tho because this is completely different from Wave[s], which was really different from The Water[s]. Also, this is kind of a nitpick, but that conversation that he was having with that lady at the beginning of the this album… I don’t know… That just kinda rubbed me the wrong way. I think he might’ve been feelin’ himself a little too much. It just came off kinda pretentious to me. The way he was explaining it to that girl made it seem like he was talking down to her. Maybe that’s just me. I don’t know. I fuck with this album tho. I love this project. It’s dope to me.

Favorite Song: Fall Through

Least Favorite Song: Communicate

Verdict:

88%

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