You’ve gotta love Chi-Town and all the distinguished talent the city produces. In the past few years, the city has fostered the young voices of everyone from Chief Keef to Vic Mensa and Chance the Rapper. But a new voice is rising to break the Midwest mold: Mick Jenkins.

Since climbing the Soundcloud mixtape pathway with his most recent EP The Water[s], Mick has fashioned his own place as a lyrical powerhouse that can’t be ignored. With the 24-year-old rapper, there is a very distinct factor that sets him apart from his contemporaries: his knack for intertwining socio-political lyrics into beats that will have you ready for the dance floor. Like listening to Common back in those Common Sense days (with a little bit of Kaytranada-backed production, of course), Mick Jenkins is here to show you that his city—and the music that inhabits it—is more than its constant Chiraq comparisons. “People call me a conscious rapper, but it’s just me giving my thoughts and theories on the shit I see everyday in Chicago,” says Mick.

We caught up with the up-and-coming rapper high on the heels of his “P’s & Q’s” video release to talk personal style, his new EP, and what all of the H2O references truly mean.

Chloe Dewberry: Can you give us a bit of background on how you got started?

Mick Jenkins: I’m from the South Side of Chicago. My mother has always listened to neo-soul and my father is really into gospel music, so those were two worlds of music I had growing up. My mother is a journalist as well; I was always good at creative writing from a young age. I started with poetry, joined the poetry club and a couple of the guys in the club were rappers. Hanging around them and seeing how serious they took it kind of developed into where I am today, kinda shaped all the waves.

How did the environment in Chicago shape the music that you created? Chicago is largely associated with a certain type of sound, and you defy that.

Well, I moved to Chicago in 2000 and I was 13 or 14 on the L by myself, not knowing where I was going. I got lost downtown plenty of times, not really knowing where I was going or that type of shit. With Chicago, there’s so much culture there, and it’s segregated as opposed to New York where it’s all a melting pot. When I’m in Humboldt Park, I meet a different type of person, when I’m in the South Side I get really different types of people, and that was really cool in developing my views of the world and the way my music sounds. Being able to pass through the city in that way and get lost in these areas really shaped how I view the world and where I find inspiration.

You got to interact with all these different cultures. Do you feel that makes you a voice for many?

There’s the typical sound you expect to hear from Chicago, especially with trap music. I had friends who are your “Chief Keefs” or your “Lil Durks,” or whatever you want to call it, you know that lifestyle. I’ve been robbed; I’ve been held at gunpoint; I’ve been jumped. I feel like I represent the person from Chicago who has grown up with all this and that didn’t necessarily go down that path. There’s tons of people like me who identify with everything I’ve been through.

Your music videos definitely show what you’ve been through. They’re very impactful.

That’s always what’s very challenging, trying to find music that delivers the message I want to deliver while the instrumental or chorus still has some bounce to it or is catchy. That’s the challenge, and I like that the most because I will always have that message in there. We’re super blatant about “fuck bitches” and “spend money,” but we can be just as blatant like in “Martyrs” or “Treat Me (Caucasian)” and the beat can be just as dope, and I can figure out a chorus that’s just as catchy and people will fuck with it, they’ll understand what i have to say. People don’t just want to hear dumb shit all day, that’s just what we feed them all day. Music like that is still entertaining.

Let’s talk about The Water[s]. Can you explain the process behind creating that EP and how the theme came about?

The [water] theme was a lighthearted thing at first, but after awhile I realized it could really be legit and I just rolled with it. “Water” represented truth—just as necessary as water is to our lives, the world, and to our health, so is the truth in realizing the true nature of the world and the way things work. That was a period that happened right before I figured out about a lot of things, and I wanted to challenge others to do the same.

You have a distinct, curated personal style. Does it ever play into your music?

In general, visuals sometimes make a bigger impact than the music does. Once people like the music, then they want to know the person. And until they meet me, they only get to see me, so all of that—Instagram, photos—for me is thought about too much. I always think about the clothes and how I’m going to wear them. I pay just as much attention to that as I do the music. It’s something I’m definitely conscious of.

It seems a lot of things have come full-circle for you. What is the direction of your new work that’s coming out?

It’s called Wave[s] and that’s what it is. Moving from The Water[s] to Wave[s], I kind of want to focus and make it a concise sound, but this is definitely me playing with what I’m able to do. “Alchemy” is the intro and I want it to capture your attention, although it’s not representative of the whole album’s music. I’m expanding what I want to do. It is very much me playing around, seeing what works and what doesn’t. Some people are going to be really inspired.