Mick Jenkins and KAYTRANADA? Absolutely. The Chicago rapper has a history of collaborating with talented producers, and the Montréal beatweaver’s past with powerful lyricists goes even deeper. Naturally, the joint is a hit, but not so much the kind we usually get from Mick Jenkins. His signature vocally understated, lyrically profound approach seems to have been flipped and hyped by the influence of KAYTRANADA, whose own auditory psychedelia drives the track’s definition while simultaneously pulling Mick from his introverted shell. 

 

The result? What Am I To Do. A track the likes of which we hope we hear more of soon.

 

With nothing but a whole lot of promise and some smaller projects since his 2016 album, The Healing Component, the melody-focused school of modern hip-hop could learn a thing or two from more Mick Jenkins. And with the bold, high-energy approach he’s struck with KAYTRANADA, maybe a sonic middle ground will get more people to listen to what he has to say.