Chicago emcee Vic Mensa has had a quick rise to fame since his rap-rock band Kids These Days split in 2013. His appearance on childhood friend Chance the Rapper’s Acid Rap mixtape was followed by a standout project of his own, his INNANETAPE mixtape that blended hip-hop with retro funk and soul and saw Vic collaborating with industry heavy hitters like Boi-1da, Thundercat, Hit-Boy and DJ Dahi. His new tunes – deep house-indebted Down On My Luck and Kaytranada-produced Wimmie Nah – show a flair for electronic grooves and further prove the artist’s ability to genre-blend with ease.
For the inaugural edition of NOW Versus, on the day of his Mad Decent Block Party performance, we challenged Vic Mensa to a skateboard-off, then talked about his new music, growing as an artist and making 2014’s Freshman Class.
