Vic Mensa
Victor Kwesi Mensah (born June 6, 1993), known professionally as Vic Mensa, is an American rapper.[2] Born and raised in Chicago, he was a member of the regional hip hop groups Kids These Days and Savemoney prior to releasing his debut solo mixtape, Innanetape (2013). As a solo artist, Mensa has been signed to Virgin EMI Records, Def Jam Recordings, Capitol Records, and Roc Nation.
Vic Mensa
Victor Kwesi Mensah
Vino
- Rapper
- singer
- songwriter
- record producer
2009–present[1]
- Roc Nation
- Def Jam
- Capitol
- Closed Sessions
- Virgin EMI
- 93Punx
- Savemoney
Mensa's 2014 debut single, "Down on My Luck" experimented with hip house, while his 2015 single, "U Mad" (featuring Kanye West) adopted a drill sound.[3][4][5] His debut studio album, The Autobiography (2017) was met with critical praise and moderately entered the Billboard 200, while his second album, Victor (2023) failed to chart. Despite limited mainstream success himself, he has collaborated with high-profile artists including Kanye West, Jay-Z, Pharrell Williams, Pusha T, Wyclef Jean, and Skrillex, among others.[6]
Mensa has been involved in political activism and charitable efforts in his hometown of Chicago, being heavily outspoken on the issue of gun violence. 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.[7][8]
Life and career[edit]
1993–2012: Early life[edit]
Victor Kwesi Mensah was born on June 6, 1993, in Chicago, Illinois.[9] His father is from Ghana and his mother is a white American.[10] Mensa grew up in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago.[11] He attended Whitney M. Young Magnet High School. 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,[12] and a mixtape titled Traphouse Rock in 2012.[13]
Legal issues[edit]
On January 15, 2022, Mensah was arrested at the Washington Dulles International Airport by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police after U.S. Customs and Border Protection discovered a cache of drugs including LSD and psilocybin mushrooms, capsules and gummies. He was charged with felony narcotics possession charges.[61]
Artistry[edit]
In interviews with XXL and Complex, Mensa cited hip hop artists such as Jay-Z, Kanye West, Earl Sweatshirt, A Tribe Called Quest, Timbaland, Eminem, Biggie Smalls, Missy Elliott, Lupe Fiasco, UGK, J Dilla, The Pharcyde, DMX, Nas, 2Pac, Hieroglyphics, De La Soul, Wu-Tang Clan, Lil Wayne, Kid Rock, and Snoop Dogg as musical influences.[62][63] In 2013, XXL called his breakthrough mixtape Innanetape "lyrical nourishment" and commented on his ability to "bend words at will, cramming syllables into lines with obvious glee."[64] In his music and in public discourse, Mensa has been vocal about gun violence and other social issues, like mental health.[65]
Studio albums
Collaborative albums