Words by Jasmine Johnson
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In 2015, Vic Mensa came into the music industry ten toes down.
The Chicago rapper came up from the Windy City before catching the wave the his 2013 mixtape, ‘Innanentape.’ The mixtape earned him an audience with Jay-Z, who signed him to Roc Nation. Not only is he signed, but Mensa is currently on tour with Jay-Z’s, “4:44” tour. But he almost missed this opportunity.
Mensa told the New York Post, that he started using drugs at an early age and that led to years of he now knows was addiction. His choice of drug? He liked them all: ‘shrooms or acid, Molly or Adderall. He said that his drug addiction and depression led to a descent into suicidal thoughts. This is well documented on his recent album, The Autobiography. He admitted frequently goes to therapy sessions and is currently in recovery. Mensa uses his art to beating the odds. By talking about topics that focus on depression and drug abuse, he is spreading a message of sobriety and the ills of drug use to new listeners.
Hov and Mensa worked on their recent albums together with the same producer, No I.D. They exchanged ideas about what issues that needs to be focus on more to where hip-hop won’t be dead.
