Mick Jenkins Goes Deep On "Dehydration" [Official Video]

Mick Jenkins' "Dehydration" visual premiered today courtesy of XXL as an expression of commentary on inner-city gun violence, particularly inner-city gun violence in Jenkins' hometown of Chicago. "Dehydration" is a powerful record from Mick's fire mixtape The Water[s] that was released this summer. The video definitely has Boyz n the Hood references but is not to be misunderstood as fictional or fantasy. It also includes the absurd homicide statistics from Chicago as well as other major US cities in an effort to make it clear that this kind of issue is not specific to Chicago since, for whatever reason, Chicago has received the most scrutiny; this issue is systemic.

The video is a damn good visual and is also awesome for the juxtaposition between the setting and the lyrics.Though the scene is specific to Chicago and depicts intra-community activity, the lyrics address gun violence and homicides orchestrated by institutional powers on black bodies: "They killed Malcolm they killed Martin / I'm a Spartan and I'll be damned or they'll be blessed if I die here." Makes you consider how habits are learned--and why. It's also a complimentary follow up to Mick Jenkins and Supa Bwe's "Treat Me Caucasian" joint about police brutality released last month.

"Dehydration" is definitely one of my favorite tracks from The Water[s] and The Water[s] is definitely one of my favorite records so basically everything is my favorite... could you tell I just really like Mick Jenkins? I hope that one of these days Chicago will stop being used as a distraction and scapegoat for such a national and global issue, that these other cities won't be neglected and after proper examination we get to the bottom of this pattern to the bullshit. Check out the official video below: