Live Show - Mick Jenkins at Rose Music Hall (October 03, 2015)

By: Travis Breese and David Colton

We got to Rose Music Hall just in time to see STWO take the stage for an hour set. The venue was empty, and we were unsure what to expect. Fin lights went down and out walked STWO, a 20-year old Parisian beat maker. His set featured a bumping collection of rap songs touched up with his own psych-electronic production touches. This was perfectly tailored for a Mick Jenkins crowd, and it wasn’t long before the venue came to life.

After STWO left the stage we saw short performances from “Free Nation Artists” The Mind and J-Stock. The Mind performance featured fun, methodical instrumentals with impressive singing elements. J-Stock’s wasn’t bad, but quite forgettable. It felt like his rap songs lacked structure and identity, and he repeatedly stopped mid-song to rant about love and hip-hop. All was forgiven, however, when Mick Jenkins took the stage a few minutes later.

Mick had a dominant stage presence that communicated an understanding that the stage was where he belonged. He opened by tearing through “Alchemy,” the first track on his newest release, the Wave[s] EP. It quickly became apparent that this show was going to be one worth remembering. Mick quickly segued into the next Wave[s] track, “Slumber,” which features a complicated jazz drum beat accompanied by a catchy, uplifting hook.

Before moving on to tracks from his 2014 mixtape The Water[s], he spoke about the deeper meaning to this project. Water symbolizes truth to Mick, and he argues society doesn't read enough into the truth and thus needs to “drink more water.” He uses water because it is “the only element with the power to create and destroy.” When he played the opening notes to “The Waters,” the cheers that rang through the building made it clear why we all came. Mick fed off this energy and truly poured his heart out for us in a way that gave me chills to watch. Mick then returned to the Wave[s] EP and played “Perception” and, “P’s and Q’s.” The banging bass-lines danced with the spectacular high hat riffs from his drummer, and reminded us of the true fire contained on this most recent EP.

Right before the last song, Mick paused and asked the audience if we were ready. He said he knew we were with him because of how well we knew the words, but he still wasn’t sure if we were ready. None of us knew what he meant, but we still cheered our asses off, eagerly awaiting the last song. Finally, Jenkins tore into “Jerome,” the Joey Bada$$-featuring closing track on The Water[s]. The crowd went wild, and the small venue turned into a loud, chaotic pit of energy. Afterwards we thought the show was over, but then out of nowhere, the bass dropped and he launched into “Social Network (GANG),” an absolute monster of a song. He had everybody screaming “Gang” within 15 seconds, which caused the energy to shoot up to yet another level, as Mick pulled back the barrier to the stage and allowed the crowd to get up-close and personal. At the very climax of the song, Mick executed a textbook stage dive, which was very impressive considering the crowd was not very dense. Afterwards, he thanked us and walked off in a mic-drop fashion.

The show was over but the best part was still to some. We left the venue and then as we walked back to the car we spotted Mick meeting fans behind the building. We told him we wished there was some merchandise for sale and he admitted he could make shirts reading “Drink More Water” and rake in the money, but wasn’t about that. I respected that but would have also loved a shirt. We said our goodbyes, got a pic and most importantly a night we will never forget.