Victor Kwesi Mensah—recognized professionally as Vic Mensa—is a person who totally embodies what it means to be an artist. He’s obtained the drive, the spirituality, the sound, and most of all, the boldness. However how does one attain the knowhow to be a profitable artist, not to mention achieve success at something?
The reply lies in a robust help system. Mensa has been surrounded by supportive folks for many of his life, relationship again to highschool the place his band Youngsters These Days was drawing the attention of main report labels and distinguished report producers. It was throughout these early life that Mensa realized he had expertise, honed his craft, and was propelled by the love and help of household and pals to faucet into his potential. That potential is now culminating with a second full-length album, a report that’s sonically rooted in hip-hop, jazz, and African music.
Once we join over Zoom, Mensa reveals extra about his upbringing and the way it helped form the person he’s in the present day. He lays naked his longtime relationship with hashish, morphing from a teen making an attempt to promote pot he didn’t possess, to proudly owning a socially acutely aware weed firm—93 Boyz—Chicago’s first Black-owned hashish model, and the way the intersection of weed, vogue, artwork, and music supplied the bedrock for his ascension from a Chicago recent child to an inspiring artist youngsters can look as much as.
Excessive Occasions Journal: Rising up in Chicago, did you at all times know you needed to pursue music?
Vic Mensa: I used to be a skateboarder first from age 6. By the point I used to be in third or fourth grade, I used to be beginning to decide on my very own music, and was extra fascinated with rock and roll. So I began taking part in guitar once I was 10. After that, I began writing graffiti, and that was actually my introduction to hip-hop.
I used to be climbing 15-story hearth escapes, portray rooftops and leaping on prepare tracks to color trains earlier than I used to be technically in my teenagers. Zoo York was an enormous affect of mine and there was a Zoo York video—I believe they known as it the Zoo York Mixtape—that had some KRS-One in there, which was most likely the primary hip-hop that basically resonated with me.
Did you might have a specific fashion of graffiti artwork and/or skateboarding, and did that fashion evolve into what you have been doing early on with music?
I believe all of these issues are intertwined as a result of they’re avenue tradition and counterculture. So far as a specific fashion of graffiti artwork, in Chicago, now we have loads of kinds however I believe we’re most recognized for straight letters, and I used to be influenced primarily by the Chicago graffiti legends. Straight, block letters, a type of straight letter tag fashion. However I used to be additionally a pupil of the sport from my earliest days. I used to be learning Los Angeles graffiti crews like MSK and New York guys like SKUF and Cope—all of the OGs.
After I began to launch and promote music, I used to be already acquainted with touring throughout town selling my title [through graffiti], despite the fact that at first it wasn’t my actual title. I’d do my very own wheatpaste posters and shit like that once I was in highschool. I imply, I’ll nonetheless do a wheatpaste poster to at the present time, don’t get it fucked up, however off high, I’d undoubtedly be out on a avenue nook with the bucket and the posters, treating it like graffiti. As a result of in a manner, graffiti is avenue advertising and marketing. A number of the those that do avenue advertising and marketing for report labels are graffiti guys. So graffiti and skateboarding are my two main stylistic inspirations.
So that you’re immersed within the graffiti world. Was there a second when music all of a sudden grew to become the first focus?
In all probability round freshman 12 months of highschool once I began to report. Simply receiving optimistic suggestions and reinforcement from folks round me—not all people, clearly, however from some those that I revered—did lots for me. I acknowledged that I had a specific expertise for writing rhymes, however you already know man, actually, I believe one of many the explanation why I focus myself on doing a lot for the youth is as a result of within the daybreak of my youth, I understand how a lot these votes of confidence did for me.
Like my massive brother Dare who I’ve tatted on my wrist and who I’ve written a bunch of songs about—might he relaxation in peace. He was older than me—close to my age now once I was a child—and he introduced me into Jam Crew, which was the first southside Black graffiti crew and took me below his wing. He was like, “This my shorty, he’s dope. He’s dope basically.” No one knew I may rap, however they have been simply exhibiting me love, boosting my confidence, and giving me alternative. As I discovered my very own path in what I actually needed to do, I already had that community of older guys within the metropolis who supported me and would let me rock phases once they’d have exhibits and stuff like that.
So your brother helped you see that you simply have been dope in a specific manner—simply as a human—after which from that, you have been capable of develop into your self musically from that form of base.
One-hundred %. Those self same individuals who confirmed me love once I was a child making an attempt to decorate cool and do graffiti and all of that shit—those self same folks once I picked up a mic or launched music to at the present time nonetheless give me alternatives.
In Chicago, one in all our main types of cultural forex and a hub of creativity got here from the boutiques and sneaker shops. We had a store known as Leaders that’s nonetheless round that was extremely impactful to all of our upbringings, a spot known as Sir & Madame, which can be nonetheless in existence, and a spot known as PHLI. All of these locations have been these facilities of inspiration, creativity, sneaker tradition, artwork, hip-hip, and graffiti .
Among the first guys I knew who have been heavy with weed, who have been leading edge, having the most effective weed and essentially the most information and knowledge—all performed into our existence as recent youngsters from Chicago. We’ve at all times been concerned with artwork, we’ve at all times been concerned with vogue, we’ve at all times been concerned with music, and we’ve at all times been concerned with weed.
How did your relationship with the plant begin and the way did it evolve as you advanced as a human?
My relationship with hashish started once I was 11. I used to be similar to another child residing within the metropolis, sneaking out of my mother’s basement to smoke in the midst of the evening, earlier than college, or after college. In these methods, I grew to become very acquainted with weed and making an attempt to promote it. However the issue was, I didn’t have any weed to promote!
So I used to be making an attempt to promote all forms of shit. I used to be making an attempt to promote blunt guts in a bag to the youngsters on the personal college down the road. I keep in mind the primary time I attempted to promote some weed I used to be in seventh grade and had a dime of Reggie. I attempted to take it throughout the best way to the highschool within the space and tried to promote it to one in all my pals. He was like, “Rattling, man. You ain’t even obtained no mids?” I used to be like, “Man, that is all I obtained proper now. You gonna purchase it or not?”
As I obtained into highschool, loads of my massive homies bought weed and I caught a pair plugs and have become the man with the specialty product. It was me and my boy Joey Purp—we had the most effective weed within the college and we’d pleasure ourselves on having leading edge strains on the time. I actually thought I used to be the person once I had Jack Frost, which was a Jack Herer cross pressure. I’d be having the OG Kush, the Grasp Kush, some OG Grasp Kush. That was our factor, being on the reducing fringe of our neighborhood so far as weed was involved.
I used to go so far as bagging up my weed in Nike SB lace luggage. For any individual I used to be making an attempt to impress, I’d bag up an eighth of Jack Frost within the Nike SB lace bag and so they’d be like, “Oh, this factor’s recent.”
I actually realized a lot from promoting weed. Promoting weed was my first entrepreneurial pursuit. Earlier than I used to be promoting a mixtape or something like that, I used to be promoting weed. To make it to highschool on time, I needed to rise up and bag up mad early. Generally folks would need to store tremendous late, so I’d want to remain awake. I needed to be punctual—or as punctual as a weed man is—however I’m only a punctual particular person basically. In these methods, promoting weed supplied the constructing blocks for my understanding of labor ethic, and thru promoting weed, I funded all of my first music initiatives, bought all of my studio time, paid for all of my music movies—every little thing. Hashish enabled me to be within the studio and to specific myself.
When it obtained you into the studio, was there a second or set of experiences the place it grew to become clear that music had taken over and was going to be your foremost path?
The second once I form of stopped every little thing else was once I obtained robbed, as a excessive schooler promoting weed inevitably does. I used to be hustling serving guys who have been manner older than me—guys of their 20s who had new child infants however have been purchasing with me shopping for quarters and halves each day—and I’m just a bit ass child. Ultimately, I did get arrange and robbed and misplaced a laptop computer with a bunch of essential music on it. However round that very same time, my father was actually supportive of my music shit and was generally giving me cash to go to the studio. So I simply type of fell again, you already know?
It was the identical manner with graffiti. We saved getting arrested and finally that was simply in the best way as a result of music was beginning to help itself. Every part else grew to become ancillary—graffiti, hustling—issues that weren’t my main focus anymore—and I dove into music headfirst.
As you began to hit a sure degree professionally, was there a “good omen” like within the Alchemist e-book that made you’re feeling entrenched in music?
I used to be in a band in highschool and we have been acting at SXSW and completely different festivals courting all the main report labels. In equity, loads of that was folks reaching out to me, however I used to be loyal to the band. Individuals liked the band as properly, don’t get me improper, however No I.D. reached out early on and was rocking with me a lot that he was like, “I’ll verify the band out.” The actual life attrition was there, and this was the weblog period, too, so we have been getting love on all of the blogs—2DopeBoyz, iLLRoots—and constructing relationships with all of these folks. Even earlier than music was paying something, it was already actual in highschool and we have been constructing a grassroots fanbase. We have been promoting out 1,500-person venues in Chicago once we have been 16 and 17, so fairly rapidly, the music grew to become actual.
I personally already had an understanding of grassroots advertising and marketing and communication from graffiti and hustling, so I’m promoting tickets within the hallway the identical manner I’m promoting dope, you already know? Perhaps on the identical time. I’m placing up posters and stickers everywhere in the metropolis the identical manner I used to be simply busting tags. On high of that, we have been simply making good music. The music grew to become a clearly viable pathway fairly rapidly.
All through your profession, you’ve been outspoken about psychedelics and psychological well being. When did you begin to perceive the advantages of psychedelics and did they play a job in your success?
I obtained into psychedelics once I was 18 or 19. The primary day I ever took shrooms I used to be sleeping on my manager-at-the-time’s sofa and Probability [The Rapper] came to visit and he had a hook and a verse for a tune that will change into Cocoa Butter Kisses. I took the mushrooms, went into the opposite room, began writing my verse, and simply caught a spirit. It was like, “Whoa, that is completely different.”
From there, I used to be taking mushrooms consistently within the making of that album known as the INNANETAPE and [mushrooms] grew to become an actual a part of my way of life. All through my life, plant medication has been essential to me and has performed an enormous position in my completely different journeys as a human being. I chilled out on shrooms for some time after [INNANETAPE] as a result of I had simply overdone it.
The methods by which I’ve used mushrooms in recent times have been in a microdosing capability and in a way more therapeutic capability. I began taking antidepressants once I was 15. I began seeing psychiatrists at that very same age—therapists shortly after—and within the final 14 years, I’ve taken over 10 antidepressant medicines. In that very same time interval, I’d most likely had one 12 months once they have been efficient, which is a dismal efficacy price.
I’ve discovered that plant medication has simply been much more impactful to me in addressing my psychological well being than prescription drugs have, and I believe the pharmaceutical trade is scared shitless in regards to the potential for disruption that every one of those completely different medicines current.
It’s such as you begin taking [pharmaceuticals] and also you assume that it’s serving to as a result of when you miss a few days you’re like, “Oh shit, I’m actually unhealthy, I’m suicidal now.” You then keep in mind you have been by no means suicidal whenever you began taking the treatment! The medication is making me depending on it. I used to be struggling once I first began taking it, however I wasn’t making an attempt to kill myself. While you’re coping with a few of these plant medicines, you’re getting a extra straight deal.
In the most effective moments, I believe [plant medicine] will help transfer inhibition. Creativity isn’t of man in its purest kind. It’s given to us from no matter you imagine is above us. If it’s God or it’s Allah or the universe or the ancestors—on the finish of the day—I imagine we’re all only a vessel for a extra highly effective, divine power. In the most effective moments of our creativity, we’re essentially the most uninterrupted sacral. It’s like a radio, and [plant medicine] will help you decide up [the frequency]. They will help decide up the sign.
I’m studying extra methods to harness issues as instruments, however to coach myself to be the first affect. Lately, I stray away from counting on being below the affect of something aside from myself. That doesn’t imply I gained’t ever have exterior influences, however I work on my meditation lots. Meditation has been essentially the most highly effective software for me in addressing my psychological well being.
I’ve been meditating since I used to be 16, and in recent times, my meditation has change into much more constant and extra intensive. I’ve realized extra methods, I’ve been on five-day silent meditation retreats, and I’ve studied completely different meditations from completely different locations on the earth. By way of hashish, a few of its conventional makes use of have been as a meditative software. Individuals consider Rastafarianism as a happy-go-lucky “by the seashore, mon,” lackadaisical concept. In actuality, these Rastas are vegan, deeply non secular, deeply meditative, deeply revolutionary, and so they meditate with the ganja. Meditation is my medication above all.
If I haven’t meditated in a day, I discover myself getting aggravated over little issues I can’t management. Meditation is my first line of protection.
The paradox is that generally you’ll want a plant medication expertise to grasp that you simply don’t want plant medication to get to an elevated place.
There are respiration workout routines and meditations you are able to do that can get you as excessive as any weed or psychedelic spirit medication. One in all my favourite issues today is to microdose mushrooms and full an hour-and-15-minute-long meditation from a e-book by Dr. Joe Dispenza. I normally don’t do guided meditations as a result of I just like the follow of disciplining myself, however the meditation on this e-book Breaking The Behavior of Being Your self is so depraved that it’s like being on an astral airplane. After I microdose, I’m taking non-psychoactive doses, which helps me faucet into my inside energy.
In January, you had an incident with psychedelics that made headlines. How did it go down?
I used to be headed to Ghana for a couple of month and I’d determined to get off my antidepressant treatment. For the previous few years, I’ve been dabbling with microdosing, however not likely in essentially the most constant manner. I had that have that I discussed beforehand the place I had just lately began taking a brand new antidepressant, took a couple of days off and began to really feel suicidal. However I then realized I wasn’t suicidal once I’d began taking the treatment, and determined to get off of it.
So I used to be off to Ghana and was going to stop the antidepressant chilly turkey. I used to be going to get on an actual microdosing routine, not have a drink once I obtained there, and take this step for my psychological well being. I reached out to a few completely different corporations simply to get the precise microdose of shrooms and so they despatched me a bunch of shit. Fairly carelessly, I threw all of it in my bag and took off.
I had a terrific expertise there, no points getting off of the antidepressants. The entire microdosing was cool and I simply put all of the shit again within the bag, wasn’t considering too laborious about it, after which I ended up going to jail.
In all honesty, what I had on me most likely added as much as an eighth of shrooms and a single tab of acid—which was an LSD microdose—so your entire bottle was one dose. It was a really miniscule quantity of psychedelics in massive packaging. However I used to be in such a cool place in my thoughts, had been meditating a ton, and was in such non secular alignment that I wasn’t careworn.
I’ve been working with loads of of us just lately within the jail launch house and was truly capable of assist a good friend of mine come house 12 years early on a 25 12 months sentence in 2020. So on the finish of the day, being concerned in clemency processes and authorized processes for bringing different guys hand-crafted being in jail for a pair days—particularly with the attitude that I’ve of those pals who’re residing years of their life in jail—a miniscule expertise.
My meditations additionally gave me an excellent edge in there, to the purpose the place I used to be simply meditating the entire time to keep away from considering negatively. I’d are available entrance of the bail court docket and she or he was like, “Yeah, we’re going to maneuver your court docket date to a few months from now.” It’s these issues that can make your thoughts need to freak out, however I used to be in a spot of actual alignment, so I wasn’t careworn and determined to see issues as a blessing within the type of a lesson, and was like, “I’m going to get into the psychedelic recreation, too!”
At this level, the medical and well being advantages are simple.
The precise, tangible, biochemical serotonin ranges in your thoughts are boosted. It’s just like the legal guidelines of this nation are confirmed time and time once more to be ineffective at assembly the wants of the folks. The persons are sick, are in fixed concern and hazard of gun violence, are poorly fed nutritionally, and the legal guidelines of this nation are incapable of addressing any answer to these many wants. So generally, you gotta go to jail for some shit that’s silly.
In Might, I launched the primary black-owned hashish model in Chicago, Illinois—93 Boyz. We’re in fairly a couple of dispensaries and are quickly increasing. Everyone knows what the Warfare on Medicine has finished to Black and brown communities, but it surely nonetheless stands that our illustration within the trade is miniscule. So we’re taking steps to alter that.
Our model is standing on prime quality and leading edge genetics in a market that doesn’t actually have that but. Additionally baked into our ethos is {that a} portion of all of our proceeds are going to community-driven efforts. And that’s what 93 Boyz is all about: Tastemaker weed blended with socially-minded initiatives.
Our first venture that we’re launching in August with the discharge of our full pressure portfolio is a venture known as Books Earlier than Bars. We’re placing over one-thousand books into Illinois jails and prisons. That is an concept I had from my very own expertise sending literature to folks in jail and seeing how their whole life expertise might be—and has been—shifted by studying the precise books. Should you can’t attain freedom but within the bodily, you may get it within the psychological when you’re nonetheless within the cage.
This interview has been edited for size and readability.