Following his brief stint with band ‘Kids These Days’ and after releasing two music projects with the group, Vic Mensa has been busy. Between then and now he’s toured internationally, recorded with artists such as J.Cole, Skrillex, and even Kanye West, made it onto XXL magazine’s ‘Freshman Class’, and released his own extended plays and set of albums every year since starting his solo career. The Chicago artist is on the rise and has no plans to pump the breaks as he released his latest mixtape in August titled V Tape.
V Tape is everything it should be and more. The seven track mixtape is a banger in every sense showcasing Mensa in an epic display of smart lyricism, rich subtext, personalized context, and even a raw freestyle track all played over varied and technically sound produced instrumentals. The mixtape is a quick listen with just seven songs running under half an hour, but they’re all different and powerfully performed on Mensa’s part. V Tape also sees Mensa collaborate with a quite a few different artists in that of Peter CottonTale, BJ The Chicago Kid, Darius Scott, SAINt JHN, Snoh Aalegra, and Eryn Allen Kane. Mensa leads the charge but each artist involved offers a piece of themselves that offer just the right seasoning to make all of the songs unique and diverse from one to the next.
No one song is necessarily better than the other as they all have their own ‘special something’ that makes them worth listening to. ‘Vendetta’ and ‘2Honest’ are likely the easiest to listen to concerning lyrics and subject matter though. ‘Vendetta’ is the first track and it jumps right into the experience in addressing a multitude of different topics about himself ranging from his own personal appetite for fashion, music, his lavish travel, and it serves as a reminder to other artists and his fans that he hasn’t gone anywhere. ‘2Honest’ gives listeners a more personal touch as Mensa addresses the adversity he’s faced in life, how he’s overcome it and why it’s made him into the artist that everyone knows today. ‘Bethlehem/SC Freestyle’ is just Vic Mensa going off in the booth, citing some religious undertones with also touching on the metaphors of race tensions in America and the difficulties his community often faces. The freestyle track is also technically mastered, as the beat changes in the latter half of the song and Mensa switches up the cadence and content with skillful execution.
V Tape on Spotify or for free on YouTube.
The above mentioned is simply a teaser of what’s to come from listening to the artist’s latest release. Rest assured if it’s any indication of what his next album will sound like, fans and newcomers are in for a treat. Vic Mensa shows with V Tape that the rap genre is still very much an art and though there are similarities in his work to other rappers in the game, for the most part, he’s doing his own thing. Catch V Tape on Spotify or for free on YouTube.
