Concert Review - Mick Jenkins & The Underachievers, Auckland NZ, 2018

Mick Jenkins & The Underachievers

22nd March 2018
Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Leah Victoria.

Auckland has been seeing its fair share of tasty double headers recently, but when it comes to hip-hop, tonight is easily the best so far. Scheduled as a slightly late show (more about that later) many of the fans were more than happy to still show up early and let the skills of the DJ get them into the right state of mind. Spinning tunes such as Schoolboy Q’s ‘Collared Greens’ he transitioned us all smoothly into ‘God’s Plan’ by Drake before rolling out a little Travis Scott with ‘Goosebumps’ and ‘Antidote’.

By now the lines of people were pressing up against the barrier, all nodding their heads in unison and chanting out the lyrics – Kendrick Lamar’s ‘M.A.A.D City’ and ‘Alright’ seeing the crowd bounce with enthusiasm, while Denzel Curry’s ‘Ultimate’ took the crowd to a whole other level. What better way to start off the night than with a DJ who knows his audience.

Already running behind the fans were almost ravenous by the time the Flatbush duo The Underachievers from Brooklyn, New York hit the stage, AK THE SAVIOR immediately yelling “Yo Auckland what the fuck is good!” the audience screaming back in response. Dropping straight into ‘Allusions’ from their 2015 offering Evermore: The Art of Duality and it is without a doubt clear that this show will be lit, the sound mix almost damn perfect and their vocals even more so.

The Underachievers obviously have no plans on taking it easy tonight, Issa Gold soon having to remove his hoodie as the temperature climbs. Bouncing across the stage the duo – who formed back in 2011 – work every inch of the crowd, often coming out and standing on the speaker stacks that frame each side of the stage, or by crouching down low inches in front of the barrier, whipping the fans into a frenzy. By the time they reached the fourth track ‘Al Capone’ almost the entire front row was ablaze; kiwi’s being of an inherently generous nature offering the blunts to each of the rappers in turn, while others throw joints onto the stage, Gold scooping one up before he throws a couple more back out to the audience. Childhood friends with Flatbush Zombies (recently in New Zealand themselves at Bay Dreams) and influenced buy the likes of Sampha, it’s easy to see why The Underachievers come across as completely tight.

Following crowd favourite ‘Gold Soul Theory’ from the Indigoism mixtape, the duo call for everyone to hold two fingers up in the air, an instruction that they all follow without question; “I dedicate this song to all y’all” AK tells the crowd as they deliver a scintillating version of ‘The Madhi’ “I say you niggas turnt up or what?” Gold taunts the audience, hyping them up just a little more, holding them at this peak that they have reached and are clearly enjoying. Following ‘Head Right’ and again Gold ‘tops up’ the audience just a little more, instructing them to make some “motherfuckin noise”.

As we inched closer to the inevitable end of their set, one could not shake the feeling that you were witnessing two masterminds at work. With a love for the internet the duo have found a way to deliver their message through “the universal language of music”, their own unique brand of what can only be described as stoner rap reaching audiences of all races. Many have stated that with their latest album Renaissance [2017] they have developed a heavier more aggressive style and this could certainly be seen as they dropped ‘Crescendo’, the beat alone stirring something from deep within – The Underachievers plan to infiltrate the music scene appears to be going well.

“We got one last song for you” AK calls out to the crowd “Ready to turn this shit upside down? I said are you ready to turn this shit. Upside. Down??”

The fans howled their approval of this statement as Gold stepped forward pointing to the middle of the room as he demanded a pit to be opened up “Open that mosh pit up! Open that fuckin pit up!” While not the largest, a fairly decent circle pit formed, fans revelling in the chance to let loose to the YDNA produced track ‘Packs’ which is darkly brooding and heavily trap-infused. “We love you guys, see you guys next time – was so much fun!” Gold grinned as he looked down at the first few rows, both himself and AK jumping down into the pit and hugging the fans, the atmosphere one of reciprocal love and respect.

So just how do you top that?

Well first of all you bring out some old school love courtesy of DJ Greenslimme, who spun tracks such as ‘Hey Ma’ by Cam’Ron and ‘I Get Around’ by Tupac Shakur. Working the crowd up slowly he eased them in with a little Wu-Tang Clan ‘Shimmy Shimmy Ya’ before hitting them hard with A$AP Rocky’s ‘Lord Pretty Flacko Jodye’, ‘Fetti’ by the soon to be here in NZ ‘Playboi Carti’ tipping them over the edge. Joined on stage by both a live drummer and bassist as well as a second vocalist wearing a theMIND hoodie; the audience waited with bated breath for the first glimpse of Jenkins himself.

And as he arrived on stage, all 6”5 of him, dressed simply in a crisp white t-shirt and tartan print cap, the audience exploded, those along the barrier desperately clamouring, stretching their arms out as if being those few inches closer to their idol made the experience all the more precious. “How y’all feelin? I know Underachievers just rocked this place; make some noise!” Jenkins bellowed into the mic, his deep voice like dark treacle. Getting straight into it with ‘Happy Gilmore’ Jenkins instantly had the crowd with him all the way. “Took me a lot to get here, I missed my flight, had to wait for another flight, but I finally got here. So I’m going to need all your energy!”

Dropping ‘Free Nation Rebels’ and his fans gave him all the energy they had as they sang the lyrics word for word, their heads and bodies pulsating in time to the beat. “Make some noise if you think for yourself” Jenkins told the audience as the closing notes of the song reverberated around the room. Indeed his fans did, being followers of Jenkins work, the majority are well aware of his philosophies. In fact it is these ideologies that have seen Jenkins quickly gain notoriety in the hip-hop scene, and it is what will lay the ground work for his journey to the top. And he will reach it without a doubt, both his influential lyrical stylings and outstanding live performances seeing to that. After playing some of ‘Reginald’ to the crowd, a new track that Jenkins stated will be on his next record (that he has been working on for the past two years), he delivered ‘Gucci Bag’ before starting one of the first ‘Drink more water’ chants that would feature throughout the rest of the night, Jenkins later explaining (for the uninitiated) “Water represents truth. When I say drink more water, that means speak more truth” Jenkins going on to say that the world is saturated with information, fake news etc and that it is up to each and every one of us present to sift through it and see the truth behind the lies.

“The name of this song is exactly what I have been dealing with for the last 22hrs” Jenkins joked, a huge smile lighting up his face as he began to play ‘A Layover’. Once again talks of THC saw the entire front row blaze away, a haze of smoke floating up past the stage, Jenkins letting it curl around him before continuing with his set. ‘Spread Love’ saw Jenkins have the audience chant the two word title back to him before he slid into another snippet of a new track, Jenkins continuously moving up and down the front of stage, never once ignoring his audience, but instead continually bonding with them through the medium of his music.

Unsurprisingly tracks such as ‘Earl Sweatshirt Type Beat’ tore the crowd up, ‘P’s & Q’s’ keeping the vibe alive as sweat poured off those along the front of the barrier. “Auckland, make some motherfuckin noise! Serious question though, dead serious. Where the weed at?” grinning Jenkins looked down at the front rows as several blunts were proffered. Selecting one from a fan, Jenkins quickly examined it before sliding it behind his ear, DJ Greenslimme smiling as he puffed away on at least his third. As ‘Jerome’ began the crowd exploded, the track – which features none other than Joey Bada$$ – seeing the floor bend under the weight of their bouncing, the sound mix still sweet perfection.

It was at this point that the show almost ended on a sour note, thanks to a jumper who made his way onto the stage. Jenkins, taken aback by the appearance of the fan by his side at first tried to remove him gently before making it clear that he was not welcome, the fan choosing to dive into the audience rather than be removed by security. Halting the song, Jenkins looked (understandably) angry, calling out the fan for being “disrespectful”, “You’re lucky I didn’t deal with you in a different way…”

Restarting the song, the smile was soon back on his face as the fans went even harder in a show of solidarity and respect for the rapper. As Jenkins rolled out ‘Cry If You Want’, another attempt at the stage was swiftly shut down by the backup vocalist, the crowd cheering as he pushed the fan straight back into the first rows. Pulling the blunt out from behind his ear Jenkins lights it and inhales deeply, a slow cloud of smoke pouring out from between his lips. “First time we did that song live, will come back and do it properly! I’m Mick Jenkins, Dj Greenslimme is going to play you out.” And with that he sauntered off the stage, an audience of exhausted but deliriously happy fans left in his wake, the sound of A$AP Ferg’s ‘Plain Jane’ filling up the room.

Tonight Auckland witnessed the future of hip-hop. And the future is looking bright…

The Underachievers:

Mick Jenkins:

Were you there at the Powerstation for this brilliant hip-hop show? Or have you seen Mick Jenkins or The Underachievers perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!