Around this time last year, the Vic Mensa hype was at an all time high. Coming off a huge Kanye co-sign and feature, as well as the privilege of working on The Life Of Pablo, Vic was beginning to make a name for himself. With a performance on SNL, a beautifully shot music video for his biggest single “U Mad”, it was hard to be anywhere without seeing the young Chicagoan. It had seemed Vic was at an all-time high after signing a major deal with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, and he was finally getting the credit he deserved, but as the huge momentum was beginning to build, he dropped out of the spotlight. He unofficially postponed his album Traffic several times, and seemingly vanished at the peak of his young career. It wasn't until the recent drop of his 7-song mixtape, There's Alot Going On, that the mainstream public had heard from the 22 year old rapper.
It seemed weird that an artist would not capitalize on all of the momentum he had created. It seemed easy. It seemed like everything was building up, and it was the perfect time to drop his album --so the fans, and world waited, but it never came. As Vic would go on to explain in the final song of his recently released mixtape, there really was a lot going on. In the song titled “There’s Alot Going On”, Vic opens up about his time leading up to this point --his demons, his struggle, and apparent addiction that prevented him from seizing the moment. But all of these problems didn't kill him, as he would describe it, it was a minor setback, and furthermore, an opportunity for him to grow. But the fans finally got what they wanted, new music from Vic, and an honest explanation of what happened and what he’d been doing.
It's now mid-June, and Vic is slowly starting to enter the spotlight, yet again. Off the recent drop of There's Alot Going On, Vic has made a number of headlines sparking from an apparent beef with friend, fellow Chicagoan, and fellow SAVEMONEY member, Chance The Rapper. This comes after Vic posted a picture of him, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, and a blurred out Chance. Speculations began to spiral over social media, and Vic has indirectly commented on Twitter and over a few freestyles about “fake friends he used to have”. But if there is one positive thing to take from that, is that Vic is back in the spotlight, with new music, and giving the fans more freestyles. As I would wholeheartedly give Vic the title of, flat-out, best freestyler of the new generation, Vic does not disappoint. I might even go as far to say he is the best rapper (traditionally speaking), of this new generation. Check out his “5 Fingers of Death Freestyle” on Sway in the Morning to back up my claims.
It's clear. Vic’s back.
