Mick has literally gotten progressively more complacent with every subsequent release, instead of breaking new ground he seems to continue to ride the wave of his debut project The Waters. While I do like quite a bit of this tape, a part of me can't help but want more.

Underwhelming But Good.

So yeah, this was good. I enjoyed the vibe of the chill soothing tracks Mick brought to the table. But on the other hand there were a few tracks that were kinda average. Not bad at all but just kinda boring. The way he rides the beat on some of these tracks though is crazy. Mick is someone I should look out for more. When I tell you I was sleeping on this dude. I was SLEEPING on this dude.

Best Tracks: Same Ol, Carefree*, The Light, Different Scales
Worst Track: ... read more

This is the guy that made the Waters? It dosen't feel like him.

This feels so dry both production and content wise to me. Everything feels just so mid on this project and it is legitimately impressive that a guy with so much talent can put out something this flavorless. Also, there are some songs on this project in which he sounds almost eerily like IDK to me and Mick seems to match that feeling with the same lifeless and boring delivery IDK enthused his record with just last year.

It's ... read more

The first half of this mini EP i found to be what Mick always delivers with. Great sorrowful beats that do nothing short of fill the room with a great atmosphere. To me Mick really slowed down on the 2nd half of this record & Although it did have good moments on it all around i found this EP to just fall short at times for me. I think there are some tracks that I will replay 100% but some of this EP is pretty plain and forgettable for me. Still a strong first 3 tho and a alright rest.

This EP is my first experience with Mick Jenkins. I have heard good things about his "The Waters" project from 2014 but I never really got around to it. Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of what I'm hearing so far. Mick appears to have talent in terms of lyricism and flow but these tracks aren’t really interesting enough to stand out.. All of the beats lack personality and flavor to an extent where it is difficult to enjoy as an entire project rather than just individually. However, ... read more

Album of the Week : 1-13-20

Short but sweet, other than a few production issues its a pretty solid release. Jenkins has good flow and the beats are nice.

The Circus is a good EP with a concept mainly about discrimination and the black community. Musically we find a Mick Jenkins in his comfort zone with the whole culture of Chicago as we always used to hear him.
Yet to be honest, I've been following this artist closely since his debut and I always found him to be a talented person who offered us quality content, but The Circus seems to be a real brake in his evolution. Although he is a great production helper, it is surely his worst project to ... read more

I'm not really sure why but Mick reminds me of Tyler The Creator a lot. It may just be his delivery and flow. Nice record though; I'm actually excited about the rest of it.

Everything Mick Jenkins has released since The Water[s] has been so so so underwhelming. This album is no different. It's hard, but not impossible, to have a lot of lyrical depth in an album with only 7 tracks and just 19 minutes. There are some catchy riffs throughout songs, like the last, faster verse in Same Ol and the instrumental of Carefree, but the songs just lack all the weight and clarity that you'd expect from a conscious hip hop album.

Mick Jenkins has a lot of potential, and all ... read more

This sounds really good. I love the lofi production. The flows here are very on point and it all just bumps. Beats are awesome, Delivery is awesome. This man can rap. It's all very consistent too. I love it.

Same Ol: 78/100 (Good)
Carefree: 85/100 (Great)
The Light (feat. EARTHGANG): 79/100 (Good)
Flaunt: 82/100 (Great)
The Fit: 80/100 (Great)
I'm Convinced: 84/100 (Great)
Different Scales: 87/100 (Great)
prod CHIRASHE! Yall been sleeping on slidergang i swear to god.

Good but sooooooooooooo forgettable

I thought a circus was supposed to be fun.

mick jenkins raps over "beats to study/chill to"

More like Mid Jenkins

Quality nap music!

Mick Jenkins, whilst not bringing much new to the table with his style on this album, shows a good amount of promise for future releases, he leaves a lot of room to grow from, and provides a good amount of songs that you can chill to or vibe to, and a song that you can turn up to, there were a couple flops on the album, but with the short runtime off of the album, it ultimately feels less notable, as you'll be hearing one mid track, but it flies by so fast you most likely didn't notice, unless ... read more

From listening to Micks lead single “Carefree”, I was very impressed and very much looking forward to how this album turns out! The first 3 tracks were good-very strong in my opinion but then after that, it took a turn to very mid tracks with basic production. Now with those, they weren’t “bad” tracks by any means, but definitely lowered the rating of the project. The last track “Different Scales”, was a great way to end the album. The production is ... read more

I’m never not going to fw some new Mick

Considering the project is just shy of 20 mins long, it hardly flies by. The beats are repetitious and the there is a lack of variety in lyrical themes. Maybe the projects' short length is its own downfall, with too many tracks finishing before themes are fully addressed, resulting in them sounding like half baked ideas as opposed to well thought out songs. It is by no means a total failure, but it is underwhelming.
Favourite track: The Light
5/10

couple good tracks but too many bland instrumentals to be anything special

Lo-fi laid back production with hard hitting lyrics. A must listen and a great start for 2020. Excited to see what comes after this from Mick.

very middle of the road, I don't see myself coming back to this soon

I definitely enjoyed this album for what it was. The extremely short length of the project meant it felt more like an EP than anything else, although it seems to be technically considered an LP. I've never heard anything by this rapper before, but he had some solid flows (though often I wasn't wowed by his delivery) over some good lo-fi beats. The bars I caught in my two listens were fun although there's almost certainly a lot of lyrical content I missed. The fourth song was definitely my ... read more

It's aight

Pretty good EP from Mick. Very nice production and some cool flows, also a nice feature from Earthgang. It is a little underwhelming but I definitely think that this is just a transitioning point into his next bigger project.

There’s nothing really special about this project. It’s not bad at all, but it’s just pretty standard and basic. None of the songs are bad, but none of them really impress me either. Nothing really stands out or grabs your attention, and the project as a whole feels like something I’ve already heard before. The production is decent, and Mick Jenkins does a decent job over them, but outside of a few highlights, this album doesn’t do much to keep your attention. ... read more

Was hoping a project from one of my favorite artists titled "The Circus" would end up being a bit more fun or adventurous. Sounds like most of these were probably afterthoughts to an album. Carefree ended up being the standout as Black Milk production and Mick just go hand-in-hand. The Fit was probably the only other track I see myself listening to by the end of the year. The Earthgang feature is very restrained, which tones down the parts of them I find annoying, but also removes ... read more

it's mid

Same OL - 8/10
Carefree - 8/10
The Light - 8/10
Flaunt - 8/10
The Fit - 8/10
I’m Convinced - 8/10
Different Scales - 8/10

Album had an amazing chill vibe plus great flows and lyrics from Mick, I didn't expect to enjoy this album this much going in but I left pleasantly surprised. I feel that this will be a favorite for a lot of the year and stick around in top contention near the end. Great album and a great listen.

Quality, concise, tight. LP just short of 20 minutes with a good amount of substance in it. Mick Jenkins flow never really fails and he has some interesting bars in here. EARTHGANG feature is amazing and probably the best song on the record. The chill beats are simple but so so so good paired with the calm and collected flows. It doesn’t overstay it’s welcome and overall it’s just a super chill and meditated album.

Very dope EP ! The cover is heat

Solid, Good EP

So I always knew of Mick, but never listened to a project. I listened to his full discography the day before this EP was released. I loved The Waters and Waves, The Healing Compenent was very mid to me. I liked Pieces of a Man slightly better.

My Thoughts on this: A very well produced and written EP, overall a somewhat return to old style type Mick. I loved the Earthgang feature as well. This EP was a good start to the year. Not much else to say, as I didn't really hear a ... read more

This is boring ngl.

FAVORITE TRACKS: Same Ol, Different Scales

LEAST FAVORITE: The Fit

I expected a Mick Jenkins album and I got it, with a few twists. He’s using a different flow which I’m down with, and I’ll always enjoy Mick Jenkins lyrics and message. Is it a masterpiece and one of his greatest projects, no(Nothing takes The Water(s) by a longshot) It’s a project that just continues his career, and still gives us some dope tracks. Especially The Light, Earthgang and Mick Jenkins kill it. All in all it's good.

I listened to this like ten times and still don’t remember nothing but the title.

Jk “Carefree” was dope, but overall this is pretty forgettable.

FAV: Carefree

LEAST: NA

Solid work

This wasn't bad, nor was it really exceptional. The Circus is a very chill project, which sometimes I found myself enjoying and tapping along to. Other times, however, I was bored with the tracks. I didn't get much value out of this album.

I was worried going into this that Mick Jenkins abstract style wouldn’t transfer over nicely to a shorter work. And while the material here isn’t terrible, and Mick’s thought provoking performances still are refreshing, this is unfocused. And for a guy who for years has been pushing boundaries and starting trends, thats tough to swallow.


Give A Listen To: "Carefree", "Flaunt", "I’m Convinced"


Least Favorite Track: "The ... read more

Mick Jenkin's, creator of such great records of 2014;'s The Water(s), returns to drop his latest EP, The Circus. The beat on the first track Same Ol fits the theme of a Circus and is a great tone setter. My quams with the track come from the fact that the track is kind of lyrically basic. The following track, Carefree doesn't have the same problems though. The track feels personal and features some pretty decent singing from Mick. The track The Light does have some good story telling but I'm ... read more

I have always liked Mick Jenkins' bars and flows and therefore was expecting something great, but, unfortunately I feel quite disappointed with this project. On this album, Mick experiments with the modern trap sound that dominants a large part of hip-hop. Instead of trying to make this sound his own, it feels like he is trying to sound exactly like his peers. Therefore, we get a project that I consider to be quite generic. His delivery and flow still holds up, but this record does not add ... read more

It's got some catchy flows and beats with creative concepts at points but overall feels like b-sides.

Mick's new EP is a project that isn't bad or much to criticise, it contains laidback melodic tracks. Yet I wouldn't say they have much impact or have me excited, "The Circus" does nothing to push Jenkins forward. As a project it's good for what it is, but it's clear it will be soon forgotten about.

It's fine. Decent beats, decent tracks, quick lil album. Didn't hate it but wasn't blown away.

It was a hip-hop album. It was an alright hip-hop album. I already forgot about this hip-hop album.

I have been up and down on Mick for a few years now. I liked ‘The Waters’ but I never found myself returning to it. I haven’t listened to a project of Mick’s in a few years for the simple reason of I just knew it would really never have much replay value for me. In my opinion there is a time and place for his conscious brand of rap. That being said I went into ‘The Circus’ with a clear head. The first two tracks ‘Same Ol’ and ... read more

pretty mediocre

This EP is kinda good. I mean, it is good. I like it. It’s just very flawed. When there are only 7 tracks on your project, there isn’t much room for error. Unfortunately there were two songs here that I didn’t care for at all, and only one track that I really loved. If you’re not a Mick Jenkins fan in the first place, there’s little to no chance of you liking this project. This isn’t gonna make anyone like Mick Jenkins more than they originally did. I ... read more

Honestly an underwhelming EP. While it is decent, it never ends up going anywhere, or builds up to anything truly individual from the other tracks. On the positive side, the production is pretty dang good in my opinion, the lofi beats mixed with hip hop actually works very well. Mick's flow is great and really shines on the project. Lyrics are good too. I do have a huge problem with the opening track though, like wtf was going on there. The production was extremely bare, vocals didn't sound ... read more

Mick Jenkins always delivers.

This project is a continuation of a series of a-list projects starting with The Waters

Same Ol - 5
Carefree - 7
The Light - 6
Flaunt - 4
The Fit - 4
I'm Convinced - 5
Different Scales - 7