Vic Mensa Says Kanye West Is “Carrying The Spirit Of Rock & Roll”
Vic Mensa talks about his Roc Nation signing, rapper jewelry, and Kanye West’s rockstar spirit.
Vic Mensa has earned some very important co-signs over short time, as well as landing himself a deal with Roc Nation, but according to the rapper, he wasn’t seeking out any of it.
In a new interview with the Guardian, Vic reveals that his outlook on his music has always been independent-minded, before commenting on the fakeness of rapper’s jewelry, and Oasis’ disapproval for Kanye Wests’s headlining set at Glastonbury. Mensa believes Kanye’s Yeezus carried the spirit of Rock & Roll in some ways.
Check out some choice excerpts from the piece below, and read it in full here.
On signing to Roc Nation:
I wasn’t looking to get signed. I’d been doing my own thing, and making my own money; I wasn’t built by a record label or the music industry, nor was I built by prominent artists that have given me co-signs… I’m not motivated by money or fame. I’m more driven by the electricity of creativity. The idea of being one of the legends that inspired me, being like Tupac.
On wearing jewelry:
I bought a chain and a grill around the time I did the U Mad video and I was wearing this shit and then I realized this isn’t really me. It’s fun, it’s cool, but honestly, a lot of it’s fake. You can’t even tell, but a lot of the time your favourite rappers are wearing a bunch of fake jewellery. Jewellers who’ve made this stuff for big prominent guys have told me this shit is fake. It’s so phoney. I can’t relate, I really can’t.
On Oasis’ opinions about rap:
I had a little thing where I said: ‘Fuck one of the Gallagher brothers’ on Twitter, and I was getting posted on blogs for ‘starting a beef’ or something. I mean, whatever. Those guys are legends, but also dickheads. Ultimate dickheads. I saw they were mad Kanye played Glastonbury. They were mad when Jay Z played too. Feels very racist to me. They’re gonna say: ‘No it’s not about race, it’s about guitar music, it’s about rock’n’roll’, but I mean like, how many people do you feel are carrying the spirit of rock’n’roll in 2015? Would you not say that Yeezus, and a song like Black Skinhead, is carrying the spirit of rock’n’roll? I can’t understand how that’s not fucking rock’n’roll.
