– featured image courtesy of lawrence agyei –
for mick jenkins, the end game has always been the healing component. the chicago-based rapper began garnering widespread critical acclaim with his cerebral 2014 mixtape the water[s] – though stalwart fans recognize his catalogue dates back even further – and punctuated that success with last summer’s wave[s], a comparatively lighter collection of songs that also served as his first commercial release.
while both the water[s] and wave[s] are impressive, fully-realized bodies of work, they serve as precursors to the healing component, jenkins’ frequently-mentioned magnum opus that will double as his proper debut album. today, jenkins erased the final smudges of ambiguity surrounding the project; the healing component is set to drop september 23rd via free nation, and accompanying the album’s announcement is its lead single, “spread love.”
the track hinges on producer sango’s combination of swirling electric piano presets and stuttering drum programming, which together carve out ample pockets to accommodate jenkins’ rapid-fire bars. but “spread love” arguably reaches its full potential when jenkins eases into its titular hook, elongating syllables in a descending cadence that echoes his propensity for low-key melodic exploration on prior works. take a listen to the song below.
Dimestore Saints 