Chicago rapper, actor, and activist Vic Mensa has teamed with longtime friend BJ The Chicago Kid to close out the summer with an upbeat new single “The Taste.”
The sunny and soulful track is the latest in a long series of collaborations between the two, stretching back to “Holy Holy” from Vic’s fan-adored debut project INNANETAPE (which he performed in full at Riot Fest) to last year’s “REBIRTH” from the acclaimed V TAPE. “‘The Taste’ is an ode to Chicago summertime,” states Mensa, “a love song to its beauty and magic.”
The new song comes on the heels of Mensa’s acclaimed seven song I TAPE project, which showcased Mensa’s adept lyricism, detailing American dysfunction with a poignancy and eye for detail that few could match.
The project was anchored by “Shelter,” a powerful collaboration with Chance The Rapper and Wyclef Jean that unpacks the tangled web of poverty and criminal justice.
Back in July, Vic shared a video for “Victory,” from I Tape. On the track, he delivers a steady flow of hard hitting punchlines over the SG & Just Blaze-produced track, while the visual takes us on a ride with scavenger hunt winners who recovered five exclusive I Tapes hidden throughout the city of Chicago.
“Victory is a return to form for me,” says Mensa. “Just pure lyricism and a foolish sample beat. The video was filmed in Chicago with a fleet of sport bikes in a lamon. We spent the whole day running from police.”
Mensa has been hard at work in the booth and out – spreading awareness of the unjust incarceration of Julius Jones, hosting a ‘Sleep Out Chicago’ event to raise money for the city’s homeless youth, plus initiatives he’s spearheaded through his nonprofit SAVEMONEYSAVELIFE, to landing an acting role on Showtime’s The Chi and more.
The I Tape garnered praise from Complex, Hypebeast, Uproxx, XXL and more. Vic also recently delivered an impressive 10 minute freestyle over DJ Premier’s “Nas Is Like” on LA Leakers (Power 106).