Vic Mensa has helped raise money and awareness for the homeless crisis in his hometown of Chicago by spending the night sleeping rough in the Windy City.
On Tuesday night (February 28), Mensa slept in a tent under the city’s viaduct with a group of individuals giving out meals to the homeless and giving those who don’t permanently live outside a humbling experience with chilly temperatures dropping into the mid-30s.
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The 29-year-old came out to support the event organizer, Englewood Barbie, who is looking to raise $1million to build a shelter for the unhoused. According to TMZ, she’s still a ways away from her goal with about $126,000 raised.
“We outside tonight in Chicago sleeping underneath the viaduct raising money to help my homegirl Englewood Barbie build her own shelter to provide for the unhoused of Chicago,” Mensa said.
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“It’s cold as fuck but it’s wild to think that people have to live outside every night. In the wintertime, people freeze to death so we’re taking this moment to honor that experience and do our part to work to make the city a better place.”
Valentino Vic then made a parody of MTV Cribs and showed off his rough sleeping conditions and the limited supplies he’d be using to keep warm throughout the cold night inside his tent.
Those interested in donating to help the homeless and putting funds toward Englewood Barbie’s shelter can do so here.
On the music side of things, Vic Mensa laid low in 2022 not releasing a project. However, he returned in January this year to unleash his vibrant “Strawberry Louis Vuitton” single featuring Thundercat and Maeta.
Co-directed alongside Danielle deGrasse-Alston, the video sees Mensa pay tribute to Virgil Abloh and jump out of an airplane while playing the guitar in mid-air.
“I really put my heart & soul into this song & video I produced the record, directed the video with @daniedegrasse, edited the trailers… everything!!!,” he wrote.
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Last summer, Vic Mensa unveiled his new cannabis brand 93 Boyz, the first Black-owned, equity focused cannabis company in Chicago and in the entire state of Illinois.
The brand’s mission is to reinvest in the communities and individuals “that have been historically and disproportionately affected by outdated laws, prejudices and assumptions regarding cannabis consumption,” according to a press release.
