Mick Jenkins

Jayson Mick Jenkins (born April 16, 1991) is an American rapper based in Chicago and signed to Cinematic Music Group.

Mick Jenkins attended Hirsch Metropolitan High, where he began participating in mock trials for the school's law academy in 2008.

Following this opportunity, he went on to become a courthouse intern at the Dirksen Federal Building in Chicago.

Jenkins ended his law studies in 2009, when he became an intern at Sir & Madame, a clothing store, and briefly became an aspiring fashion mogul.

Later in 2009, he returned to Huntsville to attend Oakwood University, and later served 34 days for a misdemeanour charge.

Oakwood is a private college that is affiliated with the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

In Jenkins's sophomore year at the school, he entered a rap competition, where the prize was a pair of Beats By Dre headphones.

Jenkins did not win the competition, but states that it led him to discover a passion in making music.

Jenkins ultimately dropped out of Oakwood after his father lost his job at the school, meaning tuition was no longer affordable.

Jenkins claims to have dropped five mixtapes while in college, though he later disregarded them and removed them from internet access.

The Mickstape and The Pursuit of HappyNess: The Story of MickalasCage, however, are still available.

In 2012, Jenkins pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge for possession of marijuana.

He consequently served 34 days in jail in Alabama, before returning to Chicago to focus on music.

On January 13, 2012, Jenkins released his first official mixtape, The Mickstape, followed by The Pursuit of HappyNess: The Story of Mickalascage in August 2012.

These consecutive mixtapes included involvement from several record producers, such as After the Smoke, Swisha House, Chris Calor, Quincy Banks, Chuck Inglish, Vanilla, and Dijon, among others.

During 2012, Jenkins returned to Chicago and joined the YCA (Young Chicago Authors), poetry collective, where he performed his first a cappella verse.

This resulted in attention from local recording artist, and a leader of Chicago's Pivot Gang collective, Saba.

The two then collaborated on a track, called Heaux, which was meant for a Mick Jenkins project, but ended up featuring on Saba's mixtape GETCOMFORTable (2012).

Jenkins also became a member of a hip-hop group, called Free Nationals.

Other members include Prop, J-Stock, Burman, and Maine The Saint.

Free Nationals is "a hip hop group that promotes creative thought without accepting narrow views imposed by the powers that be".

In April 2013, Jenkins released his Trees & Truths mixtape.

The tape quickly became a local favorite, featuring acid jazz-influenced production, biblical allegory, and his lacerating lyricism.

Only few months after its release, a collaboration between him and fellow Chicago rappers Chance The Rapper and Vic Mensa came in the form of the single Crossroads, which garnered both attention and praise.

His mixtape, The Waters, was released in 2014, followed by the Waves EP in 2015.

Jenkins was born in Huntsville, Alabama.

Following his parents divorce, he moved to Chicago, Illinois with his mother and sister when he was nine years old.

As a child, Jenkins was heavily influenced by his parents' musical preferences.

His mother listened to Neo-soul, while his father enjoyed contemporary black gospel music.

When Jenkins was just 17 years old, he began going to open-mic events at Young Chicago Authors, which engages young writers.

In July 2014, Jenkins received significant attention after the release of his single and a visual of Martyrs, which juxtaposed insight on harsh societal truths with a catchy hook.

The thought-provoking single held messages on gun violence, the fight between his conscience and new-found success, and his turbulent childhood in Chicago.

Martyrs led prominent figures in the hip-hop community such as Timbaland, to reach out and praise Jenkins for his musical talent and intricate lyricism.

On August 12, Jenkins released his project, The Waters, to critical acclaim.

Considered by many to be Jenkins' breakout project, The Waters is centered on the idea of comparing water to life's truths.

Shortly after releasing the project, Jenkins announced he would be touring during the fall on the 2014 Smoker's Club World Wide Roller's Tour alongside Method Man, Redman, B-Real, Trademark Da Skydiver, and Berner.

His first official tour took place in February 2015 with Kirk Knight, Noname and Saba.

He also joined Joey Bada$ and Denzel Curry for Phase 1 of their World Domination Tour.

On July 20, 2015, Mick Jenkins announced his Waves EP, which was released on August 21, 2015.

Mick Jenkins began streaming his new project in full via NPR's First Listen on August 13, 2015.