The R&B musician Kehlani was scheduled to perform at Cornell University and New York’s SummerStage, but saw both performances cancelled in connection with her vocal support of Palestine. These repercussions, the loss of opportunity or performance income, are an example of why some musicians may be hesitant to speak out. …
Read More »Vic Mensa Shreds Guitar While Skydiving in New 'Strawberry Louis Vuitton' Video
Vic Mensa peels off some tasty licks while falling through the sky in the wild new video for “Strawberry Louis Vuitton.” The tender, soulful tune features contributions from Thundercat as well as R&B artist Maeta. In the video, co-directed by Mensa and Danielle DeGrasse-Alston, Mensa goes skydiving with his guitar, …
Read More »Chance The Rapper on Building his Black Star Line Festival in Ghana
“We don’t have no movies about Marcus Garvey and the Black Star Line,” Chance the Rapper tells me about the influential Pan-Africanist leader and his short-lived steamship company designed to facilitate travel and commerce across the Black diaspora. “I think it’d be really powerful for Black people to see and …
Read More »Chance The Rapper, Vic Mensa Announce West African Music Festival for 2023
Chance the Rapper and Vic Mensa will host the Black Star Line Festival, set to take place in Accra, Ghana on Jan. 6, 2023. The music and arts festival, which will be held in the historic Black Star Square, aims to be a bridge between Black artists of the Diaspora …
Read More »Chance the Rapper Tells a Short Tale in 'A Bar About a Bar'
Chance the Rapper shares a short tale in “A Bar About a Bar.” The accompanying new self-directed video features fellow Chicago rapper Vic Mensa and Chicago-based painter Nikko Washington. The clip opens on Chance and Mensa working on a writing exercise. Mensa asks, “What you got?” Chance launches into the …
Read More »Vic Mensa Shares Letter Written To Virgil Abloh In New Song 'What You Taught Us'
On his newly released song “What You Taught Us,” Chicago rapper Vic Mensa writes a letter to Virgil Abloh, the trailblazing artist and designer who died Sunday after a multi-year battle with cardiac angiosarcoma, a rare form of cancer. “Virgil Abloh is synonymous with visionary,” Mensa said in a statement. …
Read More »Jaden Smith, Vic Mensa, Belly Join Christian Rich for Menacing 'Shibuya (Ghost II)'
Production duo Christian Rich assemble a super team with Jaden Smith, Vic Mensa and Belly for their new song “Shibuya (Ghost II).” The track follows Smith and Christian Rich’s 2018 collaboration, “Ghost,” and the new version boasts the same menacing mix of trap drums and eerie synths. As the duo …
Read More »