Vic Mensa Talks Debut Album, Weezer Collaboration, and What He's Learned from Jay Z and Kanye West
“I learn things from Kanye constantly,” he said. “The way that [his] mind works is a constant synopsis of different avenues that all run simultaneously."
Chicago rapper Vic Mensa is currently hard at work trying to put the finishing touches on his debut album Traffic, but took some time out to give a status update to Clash. Amongst the more notable details Mensa dropped about the new album were some of the big name producers he's enlisted to help him like Mike Dean, John Hill and Dave Sitek of the indie rock band TV On The Radio, as well as a surprising collaboration with Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo.
Apparently, Mensa cooked up a track that sampled the bridge from that band's song "The Good Life" off of its critically acclaimed sophomore album Pinkerton and eventually decided to show it off to Cuomo who was so taken by it that he contributed a whole new set of lyrics at the end. Of course, this isn't the first time that Cuomo has dipped his toe into the rap world, having linked up with Lil Wayne for the much-maligned song "Can't Stop Partying" in 2009.
Later in the interview, Mensa talked about the lessons's he's learned along the way from two of hip-hop's biggest names: Jay Z and Kanye West.
He also detailed a bizarre, but interesting story about hanging out with Puff Daddy and listening to D'Angleo and the Vanguard's latest album Black Messiah.
