It is certainly a hell of a year for Chicago. Artists like Kanye West and Chance the Rapper are seemingly ever-present in the headlines but, despite the hysteria, Chicago rapper Mick Jenkins (27) has resurfaced into the spotlight with his sophomore LP, “Pieces of a Man” (PoaM).

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Much like his previous albums, long-time fans will appreciate that Mick hasn’t strayed far away from his unique taste in beat selection. “Gwendolynn’s Apprehension” and “Understood” stand out above other tracks in this regard, the former with 8-bit-type chord progressions cut off by upward melody scales, and the latter a head-knodding diffusion of sustained slides. The album is yet cloaked by all types of narcotizing variances, from the jazz influences on “Heron Flow 2” and the BADBADNOTGOOD feature on “Smoking Song,” to the staccato, truncated loop on “Grace & Mercy” and the velvety, west-coast style bassline on “Barcelona.”

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On the surface, Mick hasn’t changed a bit. Consistent references and images of cannabis use occur throughout, and the same monastic evidence of introspection persists. But unlike the high-brow, tail-chasing syllogisms and soliloquies about love on his debut, “The Healing Component,” PoaM keeps those on the back burner (almost manifesting briefly on “Consensual Seduction”). And the introverted thought is now expressed as antisocial, particularly against those who seem to experience misfortune of their own creation — those who struggle in “quicksand” and “sink slow for some quick cash.”

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The premise that serves justification for his attitude is provided on “Heron Flow” 1 and 2. A reference to Gil Scott-Heron (“The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”), Mick presents a spoken word segment indicting “the man,” who isn’t so much the ruling establishment but the ideas which keep any single person from reaching their full potential. He expresses the importance of keeping what belongs to you — in this case, both the preservation of black culture and the preservation of individual uniqueness.

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Jenkins is rather aiming for a solid foundation, which comes as a product of his philosophical introspection (of which he largely keeps from the audience, we merely see evidence of it) and belittling the behaviors and habits he observes other (less-fulfilled) people enacting. There are several cutting moments, made even more aggressive by the forward vocal presentation, which project his general disgust for social media and the efforts he once made and has seen others make to appear “cool” and acquire validation from their peers: “I be on my show-and-prove not my show-and-tell.”

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The strongest critique to be leveled against “Pieces of a Man” is that the strength of the content is the same as the extent to which someone already agrees with Jenkins and his personal philosophy, or perhaps even his energy. Like many other artists, this is a cult of personality. To his credit, Mick isn’t wholly predictable, and he is finding new ways to present himself as he continues his individuation — a Jungian term, made appropriate by the “shadow” imagery Mick employs. There are a few tracks of bloat as well: “Stress Fracture,” “Pull Up,” and “U Turn” don’t really excite or offer more than the rest of the album already covers, but at 17 tracks, bloat is bound to happen (even “Good Kid, M.a.a.d. City” had a few tracks of bloat).

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Two quiet years have served Mick well. He’s dodged the sophomore slump by avoiding capitulating to the assumption of what the listeners desire, which isn’t particularly hard when you’re only “leaving the house to maintain relationships,” avoiding social media, and “up before the sun [and everyone else] can rise” (although the discipline to do all those things is). “Ghost” may be the strongest case for his pulling-back: “define worth to me ‘cause I won’t win the trophy/ I’ve been watching it closely/ All that glitter just garnish I’m more partial to parsley.” The title alone is a reminder of characters like Ebenezer Scrooge and George Bailey, who had to become ghosts to see their true value; Mick has similarly ghosted the world to find himself through discipline and refine his social consciousness. After all, “fuck is conscious if you woke but you still in the bed?”