“Hey, this is Vic Mensa.” Even though it’s barely 10 minutes after the scheduled start time for our interview, Mensa is sincerely apologetic for his tardiness. It’s a Friday afternoon in January and he’s in Chicago, his hometown where he still resides. “I just left the mosque,” he explains as a car door beeps. “I’ve been studying and learning about Islam for a while now.”
Much like his family, his culture and his music, Mensa’s beliefs and life philosophy, though ever-evolving, act as the cornerstone of who he is. Perhaps that’s why so much of it is bared for all to see, inked on his skin, starting with his very first tattoo. His inaugural ink is a black panther with the words “Free Huey” above it along his left shoulder, a reference to the revolutionary Black Panther Party co-founder Huey P. Newton.
“I was first being politicized, and my big sister Aja Monet—she’s a brilliant poet from New York City—gave me Malcom X’s autobiography, and she gave me Huey P. Newton’s autobiography named ‘Revolutionary Suicide,’” Mensa says. “And Huey P.’s entire movement philosophy really related to me as a slightly young Black man in America trying to understand the world and my place in it.”
The Grammy-nominated hip-hop artist got the tattoo when he was 16 in an apartment building “somewhere in the hood” on the West Side of Chicago. It isn’t anatomically correct in reference to the official Black Panther Party logo, but Mensa likes that, reasoning that’s why it has “so much character.”
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Denne historien er fra Summer 2022-utgaven av Inked.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Leaving Her Mark
Shina Novalinga discusses her entry into throat singing, going viral on TikTok and getting her face tattooed
A Phoenix Rising
Salice Rose turned to social media when she was at her lowest. In doing so, she found her true calling
A Flower Growing In Concrete
Creating art has helped Jose López navigate through the darkest periods of his life
Carolesdaughter
As tattooed people, we seldom consider how our body art will impact the people around us. But, it only takes a stranger seeing one tattoo, one time, to change their entire worldview.
Hit the Jackpot
Rapper Latto on breaking into hip-hop, representing Atlanta and making her next big move.
Tess Holliday – Bombshell
Model and body positivity activist Tess Holliday channels her inner Pamela Anderson for this sexy shoot.
Bhad Bhabie
Bhad Bhabie took her 15 minutes of viral fame and turned it into a viable career. The rapper dishes on her only fans and upcoming new music.
Building a Work of Art
To celebrate the release of the 2022 Indian Chief the legend-ary motorcycle company got together two of the world’s most sought after builders, Paul Cox and Keino Sasaki, to customize a bike for celebrated tattoo artist Nikko Hurtado.
Adam Weitsman
Social media forever altered our perception, in ways both large and small. Not only has it changed the way we look at other people, it changed the way we present ourselves to the world. With every post he makes on Instagram, Adam Weitsman is fully aware of the latter.
Problem – All The Answers
Problem has the perseverance and drive to make his dreams come true. We spoke with the rapper about his latest mixtape, entrepreneurship and how his tattoos remind him of what’s important in life.
