Rejoice: Vic Mensa has revealed that his as-yet-untitled debut LP is well on its way to being finished. The chronically-delayed project has undergone many setbacks, and in an exclusive interview with All Hip Hop, Mensa revealed that the most significant setback came from within.
We already know that the Chicago rapper isn’t a huge fan of hosting scores of huge guests on his work because of the personal nature of his songs. We also know he’s done some serious soul-searching and has opted to use his powerful voice to shine a light on important social issues, as evidenced in Free Love, where he addressed the Orlando massacre and LGBTQIA* rights as well as 16 Shots, which unpacks police brutality. Now he’s shared just how deep that desire to create art that is inherently meaningful goes: Mensa scrapped the title and most of the songs he wrote for his debut album in pursuit of something more.
Originally, the LP was slated to be called Traffic, with Mensa embarking on his Traffic Tour last year. Then something changed.
“I made an album and then I didn’t feel like it was the right representation,” he said, “So I started making a new album. That’s where the songs from There’s Alot Going On came out of. I would say it’s about 75% done.”
Vic Mensa referred to the songs he’s working on now as “very autobiographical”, an approach that worked exceptionally well for him on his There’s Alot Going On EP released last month. He describes this newfound philosophy as being “very therapeutic… like writing in the mirror”.
Mensa asserts that spreading awareness of various social issues is the key to overcoming them. “That’s why I say the things I say in my music, to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable. So that people understand – the people from Chicago – I can help them through this shit.”
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Image: Vic Mensa/Instagram