Vic Mensa has positioned himself as one of the most outspoken artists in rap music today. His most recent album, The Autobiography, is a project that is unapologetic in its raw, truthful tackling of some big issues, such as violence, depression and even suicidal thoughts. A powerhouse record, his career is definitely going to be one to watch in the near future, especially after such a strong debut. This week, Mensa continued to be upfront about this thoughts on multiple issues when he sat down for a new video interview with TV legend Larry King on the host's web series Larry King Now.
King seemed to want to jump right into the political arena with the rapper, and asked him if Donald Trump has been a disappointment so far as President or if he's merely performing "as expected." While Vic sided with the latter statement, he also said that Trump isn't the only one that he wouldn't identify with as a candidate. "I had to come to terms with the fact that nobody getting into office, as the President of the United States, is really, like, 'my' candidate," he explained. "Nobody's really representing me or my people." King then moved the conversation over to Obama, who Mensa feels didn't do enough to help curb some of the problems in their mutual hometown of Chicago. "I live five, six blocks away from Barack Obama's home and [I] watch my neighborhood not improve, my city not improve, my community not improve and maybe get worse in the time Obama was in office," claimed Mensa. It's a strong statement, but given his history of being blunt with the press, not necessarily unprecedented.
Elsewhere in the interview, Mensa talked about how coping with mental illness has taught him a lot. "As black men, there's an idea of masculinity that oftentimes is misleading," said the rapper. "That we've been led to believe is how we have to act to assert ourselves." He continues by saying how he first started to deal with his own issues where mental health in concerned in high school, says it's something that's been close to him for "a long time." Check out the rest of his thoughts on mental health and ending the stigma around it below.
