Vic Mensa’s battle against injustices began long before Donald Trump was named the next president last week. The Chicago rapper was shaken, just like the rest of the Hip Hop community, to hear that a symbol of racism and bigotry had been selected to lead the country, but Mensa sees this as a call to action, not a reason to panic. He penned an open letter to his fellow Americans at Billboard to express his thoughts.
“This is not the first time in American history where poor people have been led to believe they’re white and have also been led to believe that their problems are the result of Mexicans, Muslims and black people,” he says of those who chose to vote for Trump. “It’s just a scapegoat technique to keep them confused and keep them from looking at their real enemies, who really propagate their state of disenfranchisement and major corporations like the president-elect. They’re just pawns in a bigger capitalist and imperialist game.”
Coming off his There’s Alot Going On EP, Mensa also shared why he believes the outcome was needed. He said minority communities had perhaps found a false sense of security under the first black commander in chief, President Barack Obama. Then, having the first woman president, Hillary Clinton, or even just another Democrat, was just going to be another band-aid on a bleeding nation’s wounds.
“I had to remind myself that this wasn’t my election to win or lose,” the 23-year-old artist continued. “Then, when I woke up in the morning, I realized that this had to happen because we’ve been pacified by having Barack [Obama] in office. That pacification would have only continued by having Hillary elected.”
He expressed discouragement at the fear his sisters have felt in the aftermath of the election, but reminds them that the threats had been around since before Trump was elected.
Mensa said that now is the time to make practical changes, including talking with Trump supporters to help them understand why they are wrong. He called people to step beyond hate because it’s “fucking tiring. It’s exhausting and it’s so hard to think rationally” and work towards a higher vision.
“We need to unify and decide what it is that we really believe in — that’s what we need to fight for,” he concluded. “We can’t just fight against injustice. We gotta fight for justice.”
Read Vic Mensa’s entire open letter at Billboard.
thanks for you insight captain obvious
Trump won get over it !!!
i’m now of the sound mind that rappers just need to shut the fuck up. Trump never insinuated or led anyone to believe that their problems are the result of another ethnic group. Most of what Trump said regarding patrolling our borders wasn’t ground breaking or ingenious. Its just common sense. We have all these laborious procedures, application forms and test we as Americans have to go through to enter Mexican borders. Yet they can just hop over a fucking wall and live here as citizens. Vic Mensa as well as T.I and a few others have been spewing nothing but shit out of their mouths regarding political matters and some people are actually dumb enough to think they’re smart. Vic Mensa never talks about the real problem in Chigago: NIGGAS! Instead he and a handful of others want you to believe that there is some mythical “White Supremacy” system in place to oppress blacks via police force and other outlets. If white people got tired of our black asses they could and would have wiped us out already.
Plans are executed with a process.
actually you don’t know shit, mexico has an open border and allows anybody to access without a big deal, its a visitor friendly country, the us is the one asking for a visa (fucking tramit only needed in the usa) even Europe gives the visa and passports easier than the old might uncle sam, everybody could be legal and paying taxes cause at the end of the day America dont have a hard working class that is required to run a country, trump just playd the patriotic card and blame everybody except the americans for having a fucked up country of lazy americans
Lmfao. Tommy Lee Jones voice: “You one dum son a mabitch” You said Europe gives the visa easier. Number one I have many friends from Europe who can confirm that’s not true but lets say it was. The point is they’re not letting people climb over a fucking wall to get in for free. There is still a process that involves having PERMANENT citizenship in Europe. You said Americans are lazy? Guess you never heard of Detroit, Michigan or Ohio, Michigan and a few other cities in the mid-west that runs plants that keep the rest of us comfortable whom got fucked over by politicians like Obama. Have you ever been there? I have. Heh heh. You probably one of them dumbasses who don’t know that Black Lives Matter was funded and started by George Soros to stage race wars and cause violence and riots in this recent presidential election against Trump Supporters.
I’m mad at that suspect picture
lol
Hey Vic, it’s not the first time that a racist has been elected president…..
Oh Thank the lord we have Vic Mensa’s opinion on politics.. Iv been so lost without the insight of this random ass dudes opinion. Why do we look for advice or even opinion from celebs and rappers.. what do they honestly know that will change anything.