Vic Mensa Crashes & Burns With Rage Then Rises Again (Video)

Lots has been said about Vic Mensa’s consistently outspoken nature, a characteristic of both his music and personal views. A vociferous critic of political policies in his native Chicago, Vic also recently made waves calling out DJ Akademiks for what he perceived to be the latter’s nonchalant ignorance about homicides in the city. On July 28, Vic will drop his long-awaited solo debut, and its title alone suggests it will be imbued with the visceral and vulnerable qualities found throughout his entire discography. The Autobiography will feature the high-soaring single “Rage,” accompanied by a visual component underscoring the 24-year-old’s propensity for message-driven content.

Vic Mensa Holds Nothing Back On His New Single. The Autobiography Is Personal (Audio)

Today (July 17), Vic is featured in a new music video in which he is a passenger on what appears to be a doomed plane. In addition to literally crashing and burning, allusions to the dangers of alcohol and emotional crutches are found throughout the clip, which Vic explains to theFADER lay the foundation for the forthcoming LP. “This music video & song were done before the rest of the album was recorded, and really laid the foundation for the emotions that would become The Autobiography,” he explains.

With not a frame wasted, the video is an impactful complement to the song itself, which features Vic’s singing voice and elements of Rock. Liquor bottles, prescription medications, drowning in the ocean, intermittent clouds and sunshine all serve as metaphors for mental health, a topic Vic has been open about in the past. He begins rapping a full minute into the track, and he approaches his songwriting with force. “N*ggas waking up with no job/No mob lynch, but we still hangin’/White man tellin’ n*ggas to ball like Phil Jackson.” He’s also vocal about depression and suicide, singing “Sometimes I wish I could fly far, far away/Where my sins fall down like pouring rain/Almost slipped my knot, hope I don’t fall again…

Pre-orders of The Autobiography have been made available, and purchasers will receive four songs instantly.