To help celebrate the opening of the StockX Chicago Drop-Off, we are excited to introduce “That’s 5 Chicago,” a new interview series featuring innovators who are pushing the culture forward and call Chi-Town home. To kick off the series, we spoke with rapper Mick Jenkins, who released his second album, “Pieces of a Man,” at the end of 2018. His experiences in Chicago inspire his music, and the city’s different neighborhoods have influenced him in unique ways.
Check out the first installment of “That’s 5 Chicago” with Mick Jenkins below.
The following has been edited for length and clarity.
How has Chicago influenced you?
There are different types of people as you go throughout the city, and I was getting various aspects of Chicago in its different pockets. I would be in the south getting that aspect; I would be downtown getting that vibe; I would be up north where I was doing more creative things like poetry and where I would shop and stuff like that. Pilsen is mostly Hispanic, and Iāve been here for the last five years. Being in Pilsen, seeing gentrification happen at a rapid speed, seeing all the little mom and pop stores, and developing decent relationships with people in the neighborhood just by being there inspires me for my music, to the food I choose, to the clothes I wear just because itās an entirely different culture over here as opposed to Hyde Park, where they express themselves uniquely with their own culture and businesses. Having contrasting experiences on different sides of the city represented Chicago differently, and I think I took that colorfulness with me into my adulthood.
What is most overrated, right now?
Politics. Government. That’s severely overrated. A lot of the issues are not rocket science. A lot of the shit isnāt the most complicated shit in the world. I think we as a society like to act like it is and leave it to the people that weāve always been told are the people that can take care of it, but how we handle a lot of issues like poverty, jobs, and the deficit is the problem. If we were focused on solving the problems, we would do things a lot differently.
What is most underrated, right now?
Therapy, even though it is becoming trendy, I think, but I could be wrong about that. I believe that as Iāve been doing counseling and pre-marital counseling and just delving more in-depth into myself with other people, I realize how important it is. Iām learning more about myself and how the world and I affect each other. I’m learning about the things that Iāve brought with me into my adulthood that, if I would have addressed earlier, wouldnāt have had to hold me back the way they had for years. I know a lot of people are dealing with things and arenāt doing anything about it simply because of ignorance, or because they don’t know what to do about it, or because they don’t believe what theyāre told to do is the thing to do about it. I know niggasĀ holding onto breakups from fifth grade. Itās like damn; you need somebody to talk to about that so you can let it go and stop looking at women the way that short guy who went viral did [laughs].
What advice would you give to the next generation of Chicago creatives?
I give this advice because these are things that I dealt with myself, and I donāt think I was able to see it until afterward. I tell people to do it. Do it. When youāre young, you have so much time, and you should spend it doing all the things you want to do and falling and failing, or succeeding. But once you get older, if you care about a certain quality of life, your ability to take those risks starts to deteriorate, so you shouldnāt wait. Youāre at a perfect age and time. I used to tell Monte Booker that shit when he was making amazing beats at 18. I told him I wish I was as daring as him and did what I wanted to do creatively when I was 18 like I waited until I was 23.
Next is not to let anything hold you back. I didnāt believe that I was allowing things to hold me back but, at this point, I can now look back and pinpoint all the things that I didnāt realize at the time was holding me back. I was allowing certain things to keep me from moving forward, which I didn’t need to do, but I wasnāt able to see it until now. I tell people to think about whatās stopping them, because most of the time, it’s not stopping them. They are allowing it to stop them because of their perspective or because of whatever. A lot of the time, it isnāt keeping you from moving forward, even if itās keeping you from getting to a certain platform.
Whatās next for you?
Iāve got a lot going on. I think that Iāve finally gotten to a place where Iām okay with whatever happens with the reception of my music. I just got engaged at the top of the year. My priorities are changing, and Iām trying to set up the rest of my life. Iām not a person who thinks heās going to be rapping for the next 20 years as far as putting out music to feed a fanbase, but I donāt think Iāll ever stop creating. Iām figuring out how to open a sandwich shop. I got some properties Iām Airbnb-ing. And then at the basis of that is the music.
I think that Iām in a much better mental space, so the music that Iāve lately been creating has come from a space of exploration. Iāve got a lot of music thatās different. Iām stepping out and doing some shit that feels super weird when I’m doing it, but find it’s amazing when I’m done. Being at ease with where Iām at has given me a lot more freedom to discover the music creatively, and so Iām excited to share that. Iām focused on making sure that my art is presented to society a little more tightly than itās usually been, and Iām able to do that mostly because other aspects of my life are relatively in order, so Iām excited to drop a lot of new music and content this year. I think there needs to be a balance between my music and the rest of my life, which is ultimately my mental and creative states of mind working symbiotically. That’s happening right now, so Iām in a pretty positive space.
Bonus Question: Was that 5?
Uh, yes? I donāt know. I wasnāt counting. Iām a little confused right now [laughs].
