Mick Jenkins Drum Kit
Mick Jenkins' music is famous for its "underwater" aesthetic. To achieve this, apply a low-pass filter to your percussion elements or your entire drum loop during intros, bridges, and verse transitions. Automating a filter frequency between 400Hz and 1kHz creates a claustrophobic, aquatic atmosphere that perfectly mirrors his frequent lyrical motifs regarding water and drowning. 4. How to Build Your Own Mick Jenkins Drum Kit
Snare drums often have a sharp "snap" but are layered with subtle textures or "dusty" percussion.
Route your drum bus to a auxiliary track and apply a subtle vinyl crackle, tape hiss, or rain texture. Use a sidechain compressor on the texture track, keyed to your kick and snare. This makes the atmospheric noise "duck" every time the drums hit, gluing the track together. Use Filtered Hi-Hats
Jenkins' drum kit is a carefully curated selection of instruments that reflect his eclectic musical tastes. At its core, his kit consists of:
Often, a live bass guitar loop or a smooth synth bass is used instead of a traditional 808. When an 808 is present (as heard on The Patience ), it is heavily saturated in the mid-range so it remains audible on phone speakers, but filtered on the top end to keep the mix smooth. How to Program Beats Like a Mick Jenkins Producer mick jenkins drum kit
: High-end hardware isn't always required; some of his most popular tracks were produced using VSTs like Analog Lab and basic DAW drawing tools without a MIDI keyboard. Drum Processing
If you’re looking for specific (like WAV or MPC) or want to know which VSTs pair best with these drums, let me know and I can give you a list! Share public link
: Since Monte Booker is a frequent collaborator with artists in the same circle (like Smino and Saba), his kits are often used to achieve that "bouncy," experimental percussion heard in Mick's music. How to Get the Sound
For the right tone, many producers use Serum or Vital with The Ultimate R&B Suite to get those lush, alternative hip-hop sounds. 3. Production Tips for the "Jenkins" Sound Mick Jenkins' music is famous for its "underwater" aesthetic
As a drummer, producer, and rapper, Mick Jenkins is redefining the boundaries of hip-hop music. His drum kit is a key element of his sound, providing a foundation for his lyrical dexterity and musical experimentation. With his unique blend of jazz, soul, and hip-hop influences, Jenkins is setting a new standard for hip-hop drumming – one that's sure to inspire a new generation of musicians and fans alike.
Here is a detailed breakdown of the Mick Jenkins drum kit by sonic category.
Take that vintage jazz kick and layer a pure sine wave 808 underneath it. Here’s the trick: turn the 808 volume down to 20%. You shouldn't hear it; you should feel it.
Mick often uses crisp rimshots or layered claps that cut through thick basslines. Use a sidechain compressor on the texture track,
Add the sound of a wooden stick hitting a cardboard box. Or a keychain jingling. Pitch it down -5 semitones. Use these as ghost notes between the snares.
The snare choice is critical for this aesthetic. A standard trap clap rarely works. Instead, a proper kit requires:
If you are looking for specific packs to replicate this style, these are highly regarded in the community:
The story of Mick Jenkins' drum kit is not a story of brand names or shell sizes, but a story of sonic evolution. It is about the transition from the organic boom-bap of his early work to the technologically enhanced precision of his later tours. The live performances of Mick Jenkins are anchored by a drummer who treats his kit like a producer's control room. By blending acoustic power with electronic versatility, Jenkins and Hyppolite have defined a modern standard for hip-hop performance, proving that to truly move the crowd, you need both the soul of the live drummer and the precision of the machine.
