Weekly Music Commentary has featured many musicians born and/or raised in Chicago, Illinois. Of course that is not by accident for a couple of reasons. 1) The city historically has been the birthplace of some of the greatest entertainers in the world. 2) It is also my birthplace and I relish opportunities to highlight the artistic efforts of my neighbors. This week I took advantage of one of those times that a young artist delivered an album and music that warranted a feature in this weeks’ blog. This week Weekly Music Commentary features young rapper, singer, and songwriter Vic Mensa.
There is a lot to say about the south side of Chicago. It stays in the news because of the violence and crimes that are highlighted around the world. Artists like Mensa, Chance the Rapper and others tell the story from the resident and young persons perspective. That’s important because in order to solve a problem, we need to know why there is a problem first. We need to understand from someone who lives and breathes the community and issues therein. Therefore, it’s time that we examine the early life and activities of Vic Mensa, and find out why he qualifies as a voice we need to hear.
Victor Kwesi Mensah was born on June 6, 1993. His father is from Ghana and his mother is a White American. Mensa grew up in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. He attended Whitney M. Young Magnet High School and while a freshman, met Chancelor Bennett in passing (Bennett would later be known as Chance the Rapper).
Of all of the new musical artists I’ve featured in Weekly Music Commentary, Vic Mensa might have been born and raised the closest to where I’m from. I say the young ones because many other older artists are from my area, including the late, great Muddy Waters. However, this week I want to get the viewpoint of one of the artists who has lived in south side of Chicago first hand.
Mensa has seen a lot, heard a lot, felt a lot in his years growing up on the south side of Chicago. It’s one of the country’s most dangerous neighborhoods and, as such, it shapes how its residents view and react to the world. Chicago, in another way, is also something of a crossroads. For Mensa, it meant a place from which to grow into a successful artist. For others, it’s a place that’s led them to prison, both justly and unjustly.
I’ve felt that crossroad first hand. In fact, I recently spoke with a friend here in south Florida about a childhood friend who has spent his entire adulthood in prison. He’s never getting out again. What happened? How did he and I come from the same surroundings only to end at two entirely different places in life? Vic Mensa and I have experienced a similar existence.
Mensa began his career when he formed a band called Kids These Days in 2009. The band would eventually release two projects, an extended play titled Hard Times in 2011, and a mixtape titled Traphouse Rock in 2012. Following the band’s split up in May 2013, Mensa performed with Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn at Albarn’s 2014 performance at the Governors Ball Music Festival, where he performed the track “Clint Eastwood”, filling in for MC Del the Funky Homosapien. On September 18, 2013, it was announced, that Mensa would be joining J. Cole and Wale on the What Dreams May Come Tour. Mensa would eventually release his debut mixtape, Innanetape, which was released on September 30, 2013.
On February 12, 2015, fellow Chicago-born rapper Kanye West debuted a song, titled “Wolves” at his Adidas Originals showcase. The song featured Mensa himself, along with Sia. Mensa later performed “Wolves” alongside West and Sia on Saturday Night Live’s 40th Anniversary Celebration three days later. Mensa would later release an official collaboration with Kanye West, titled “U Mad” on April 10. Eleven days later, Roc Nation announced that Vic had signed to its label, and a video of Mensa signing the deal alongside Jay-Z backstage at his On the Run Tour in Chicago was released on Tidal.
On June 3, 2016, Vic Mensa released his second extended play titled, There’s Alot Going On. With only one guest feature from Ty Dolla Sign, the EP tackled issues such as the Flint water crisis, the Shooting of Laquan McDonald, and self-inflicted wounds. Mensa’s EP debuted at number 127 on the US Billboard 200 chart.
One of the titles I did not mention when listing the musical jobs of Vic Mensa is activist. Mensa is a founder of the hip-hop collective Savemoney which includes frequent collaborator Chance the Rapper. He also is the founder of the SavemoneySavelife foundation, whose mission is to use art and entertainment to foster sustainable change, and funds three programs in Chicago centered on health and the arts. He not only performs about social events, he also contributes toward the cure for some of the problems that plague Chicago.
Leading up to the release of Mensa’s debut studio album, he released his third extended play, The Manuscript on June 8, 2017. Three days later, Mensa announced and revealed the album’s title of his debut studio album titled, The Autobiography. Mensa would release the lead single titled, “Wings” featuring Pharrell Williams and Saul Williams on July 13. The Autobiography was released on July 28, 2017, through Roc Nation. The album featured guest appearances from Weezer, Syd, The-Dream, Chief Keef, Joey Purp, Pharrell Williams, Saul Williams, Ty Dolla Sign, and Pusha T. The album debuted at number 27 on the US Billboard 200 chart with first-week sales of 15,000 copies first week.
The guest on that album might seem very musically diverse. There’s a good reason for that as Vic Mensa explains in a recent interview in American Songwriter. “I grew up around world music, a lot of African music, classic rock from my mom. My mom is a hippy type, she went to Woodstock. So I early connected to Jimi Hendrix, I had the dirty afro. [Laughs] But as I got a little older and I was in grammar school, I first found music of my own in rock ‘n’ roll music. That’s when I first connected to it. Because I felt like it spoke to me. I definitely felt without a place often times in my childhood due to my upbringing and my background. My father is West African and my mom is white from Upstate New York and I grew up on the south side of Chicago. So, I felt other, you know what I mean? I think that rock ‘n’ roll spoke to me because much of what I was listening to was about people feeling like outsiders.”
The quote above explains a lot about Vic Mensa’s choice of sound. However, he will never escape his upbringing on the Chicago couth side. Believe me I know. He continues to get to the heart of things in his new mixtape I Tape. Mensa is open to talk about pain, suffering, prison and the dearth of justice so many see on a daily basis. Certainly the person from Chicago’s south side will readily understand the music and lyrics of Vic Mensa. The message cannot be clearer. Nevertheless, I think those not familiar with Chicago issues will find Vic Mensa’s music very relatable. We can all understand the language, even if it is the language of Chicago.