Photo via Joshua Jenkins
A genuine love of making music is hard to imitate. There’s nothing that can replicate the feeling of being authentic when it comes to your craft, and authenticity is exactly what rapper Joshua Jenkins gives off on two new projects that he recently dropped; a full length entitled Chop Wood, Carry Water, and the A Very Bad Thing EP. On the former, as the name might insinuate, hard work and determination are the core themes. The title track turns the album name into a chant-like chorus, emphasizing work ethic over everything. In addition to making music, Jenkins also trains in mixed martial arts, and that focus and determination carries over into his creative outlets.
“In the past two years of my life, I’ve been through a lot of traumatic things” said Jenkins. “The MMA training and music was my way to vocalize my pain and heal from it, along with my relationship with God. I wanted to show people as a competitor and someone whose been rapping since the age of seven that I’m not playing (laughs). Seven songs wasn’t enough.”
Prior to his solo musical endeavors, Jenkins was one third of the group A.D.H.D., a trio that shared a like-minded approach to emphasizing the craft of hip hop, and elevating one another with a matched drive for success. While all of the members continue to make music, the split was a chance for Jenkins to reset and reflect on the direction he wanted to take things. Splitting Chop Wood, Carry Water and A Very Bad Thing into two separate entities allowed for him diversify his sound.
“I wanted to show people both sides” said Jenkins. “The Chop Wood, Carry Water cover has a wolf and A Very Bad Thing has a goat. It’s a duality with me. I’m a very humble person on the exterior, but internally I can be aggressive and vicious. The second half is like the gritty, North Side of Milwaukee in me.”
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In many ways, doing two projects is both reflective of where Joshua Jenkins came from as well as where he is determined to go to. While 2020 was a quiet year for him musically, there’s a feeling that plenty of content is on the way for the remainder of 2021. Fully back to work and refocused, there’s not much stopping Jenkins at this point.
“Everything I’m doing now, I’ve written down within the last year with a plan to execute” said Jenkins. “My goal is to drop an album at the end of the year with 15 or 20 tracks. I’m in the studio every weekend.”
You can check out both Chop Wood, Carry Water and A Very Bad Thing on all streaming platforms now.
