Let This Song Be Your Shelter

In addition to last August’s V TAPE, a lot has happened in the past year for Chicago-based rapper Vic Mensa. Not only did he host a drive-in concert in September in support of the EP’s release, but he had also played a part in multiple successful initiatives through his non-profit, the SaveMoneySaveLife Foundation, including the distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE) and groceries throughout the city, as well as collaborating with a local distillery to make hand sanitizer to give to those in need. However, the most refreshing experience was his trip to Ghana. “Honestly, you know, being able to be surrounded by people with the same bloodline as me is a blessing I appreciate, and having a direct connection to where I’m from is another blessing that I just deeply appreciate,” says Mensa, born Victor Kwesi Mensah to a Ghanaian father and a white mother. “As Black Americans, we’ve often been robbed of our ancestry, our culture, and our heritage, and I have the privilege to have such a direct link to those powerful entities.” Additionally, he has been cast to star in the upcoming hip-hop drama, African/American, based on the true story of Howard University alumni Syd Money (also known as Sydney Hall) and his collaboration with South African hip-hop pioneer ProKid (real name Linda Mkhize). Legendary costume designer Ruth E. Carter will make her production debut with the project.

The tough realities that come with being Black in America play a key role in Mensa’s creative process. For instance, “SHELTER” – featuring Chance The Rapper and Wyclef Jean – from his recent project, I TAPE, was influenced by his journey to help bring a friend home from an Illinois prison 12 years early on a 25-year sentence implemented when he was 14 years old. Shortly after, he discovered the case of Julius Jones, a Black death-row inmate in Oklahoma, who was sentenced to death for the 1999 murder of a white businessman during a carjacking. His case has faced increased scrutiny, with a growing movement claiming his innocence and calling for his release. “I realized that things that, [based] on my review, had been impossible were truly possible and that we must have the courage to believe what we can’t see if we want to change the world,” he says. “In the spirit of that energy, I learned about a man named Julius Jones on death row and that he was signing letters he was sending with ‘Theme Music We Could Be Free by Vic Mensa.’ It was cataclysmic for me, and it was then that I was inspired to write the lyrics for ‘SHELTER.’” (I TAPE also includes “FR33DOM” and the Just Blaze-produced “VICTORY.”)

As far as his philanthropic efforts go, Mensa has been working on numerous initiatives to look forward to in the future, despite the tragedy: On New Year’s Eve, over $40,000 worth of donated items, including PPE, new shoes, and medical supplies, were stolen from his SaveMoneySaveLife organization’s storage facility. He created the non-profit in 2018 as a way to give back to his hometown of Chicago. “One of the things that we’re working on right now is called ‘She Got Beats,’ which is a music production program for young girls,” he shares. “I’ve also been wrapping my mind around a concept to do an exchange program where we can bring young kids from the South Side of Chicago to Africa, specifically Ghana, and vice versa. So we definitely have a lot of things on the horizon.”

The activist and philanthropist has influenced millions through his music and will continue to share his story to shine a long-overdue light on important moments in history. “I’m definitely not looking at myself as the answer to someone else’s problems or the world’s problems,” Mensa tells me. “I’m just expressing my point of view. And if, in doing so, people can relate in any way to what I’ve gone through and [that can] help with what they are going through, then it’s a success to me.”

Writer: Hannah Fitzpatrick

Photographer & Videographer: Kofi Duah

Videographer Assistant: Chris Figer

Stylist: Kevin Afriyie

Stylist Assistant: Papa Harrison-Indome

Men’s Grooming: Nathaniel Dogbey (@the_hairmasterz)

Editor: Eiko Watanabe

Special thanks to EPK Media (@myepk & @epkmedia - epkmedia.com)