Mick Jenkins has always been a prolific poet weaving situations, life bits, and mind blinks through beats that had lives of their own, from the murky murals of The Water[s] and Wave[s], to the dirt and summer gravel of Pieces of a Man. The Circus is a completely new and dry canvas that sits cleverly on the nook of a new decade for Mick Jenkins and it’s fantastic to see him come back this hard with it.
He’s always been distinctly committed in his delivery and flow (just an obvious example would be ‘P’s and Q’s,’ which left little room to leave for error.) But everything on The Circus feels so precise and so sobering: everything from the beats, now evolved and eking with a new confidence, to Mick himself, who feels renewed and inspired. For fans of Mick’s longer projects, this one’s on the sleek side with 7 tracks, but everything counts doubly – especially in tracks like ‘Same Ol,’ ‘The Fit,’ and ‘Flaunt’ that take on a visceral, viral quality.
The perfect intro, ‘Same Ol’ invites and just as suddenly plunges with a catchy dripping hook that repeats only once before ‘Carefree’ soars, as Mick Jenkins sings softly and reflects on life, relationships, and the police. Mick paints the image of stress especially well with a sticky post-hook asking for space from friends and family. The lush electric piano and guitar make this track, as well as its follow-up ‘The Light’ two of the chillest tracks on the release – a longstanding staple of Mick Jenkins’ stoned gold sounds. The EarthGang feature on the latter being so vivid with its imagery. The hook on this track feels at once detached, but also has an encouraging element to it circa Pharrell’s 2005 ‘You Can Do It, Too’ vibes. Mick Jenkins’ verses on this track shows he is still hunting for truth, consistency, and the best in his world.
‘Flaunt’ has a decoded confidence in it and wavily mocks flex culture with a knowing nod to a beat that itself is a funhouse mirrored image of the sin-wave laced trap beats Migos commonly sit on. The delivery on ‘Flaunt’ and ‘The Fit’ immediately caught my ear, with both finding Mick Jenkins’ practicing restraint in his flow and breath control, at times sounding like he’s winding out of air and then returning to his hooks with gusto. The final two tracks, ‘I’m Convinced’ and ‘Different Scales’ find Mick Jenkins returning to the convictions established in ‘Carefree,’ with ‘Different Scales’ almost possessing a sense of mourning, peering in through the window upon the hypocrisy of those who opt to live disingenuously and take advantage of it, rather than speak and live truth.
In total, Mick Jenkins’ work with The Circus is meaningful for two reasons – it’s a freeing experience on its own, but taken in considering Jenkins’ past efforts it shows a growth in mind, penmanship, and control. The decision to keep this album as short as it is is fully intended – there’s so much to unpack in this album and at only 19 minutes, it’s well worth multiple listens.
Words by Luke Deitz.
