Vic Mensa On Sharing His Opinions & Telling A Story In His ‘Blue Eyes’ Short Film

Chicago-born rapper Vic Mensa has embarked on a new chapter of his musical journey, offering listeners a glimpse into the most intimate corners of his life. Renowned for his unapologetic approach to social issues, Mensa has not only evolved his sound but also learned from sharing his unfiltered opinions. Now, with the release of his short film, Blue Eyes, the artist dives into the complexities of his mixed-race identity and confronts the insecurities that shaped his formative years. This bold exploration signifies a profound shift for Vic, both musically and personally, inviting audiences to witness an artist who is unafraid to confront his own truths and learn from the narratives he once shaped.

Vic Mensa engages in a discussion with EBONY, delving into the depths of his latest short film Blue Eyes, and reflecting on his personal evolution when it comes to sharing his views on social issues.

EBONY: Your sophomore album, Victor, was more personal than your debut project. How did your approach to storytelling change, and what prompted this shift in narrative focus?

Vic Mensa: My debut album was very personal as well. I think something I changed my approach with this album was making the stories less linear and less hyper-focused on myself. I think that the storytelling on my first album was very autobiographical and the storytelling here will be like bits and pieces, part of my story, somebody else’s story, and how they intersect. I think it’s just constantly looking for new ways to tell the story. That’s the basis of what I do, finding new pathways to lead to that personal place.

Did you find it challenging to open up more personally in your music?

Writing is challenging, honestly. I feel like, most of the process of writing for me is to practice through challenges, challenges of the wait, or pain I can be having, especially when you know you have something to say or seeking a different level of connection. With that said, in between those albums, I did a lot of EPs, and something I came to understand more recently is that I think, “forget EPs.” You could do 10 EPs and people will say, “Oh, it’s been seven years since your album,” you know what I mean? It’s like, EPs just don’t get the same respect as an album. I think an album is just like the tried and true format of music in a way that a film is the quintessential amount of visual art.

What inspired you to create the short film Blue Eyes, and how does it connect with your artistic vision?

The short film was a vehicle to explore the weight of the topic in more depth. I felt like talking about skin bleaching and its impact, the impacts of colonialism, and white supremacy on the minds of African people. You want to be able to hear from those people; you want to be able to hear from people, so I think a documentary style allowed us to do that as well to express my story and also express the collective story. I just love Jamaica, bro.

Being mixed race and rapping about some doubts/insecurities you had growing up. What message or impact do you hope Blue Eyes will have on your audience, and what discussions or reflections do you aim to spark?

You know, colorism got us in a chokehold. It’s like Black people of the globe, African people of the globe. We are dealing with the same circumstances in different manifestations some privileges come along with being light-skinned. There is different treatment of Black people. Black people are not a monolith. By law, we are targeted by the same oppressions. It’s also a technique of those oppressors to get us to focus on our differences to divide and rule, that was the strategy. They say Willie Lynch was a made-up document, but everything inside of it was spot on making the light ones hate the dark, and vice versa. Old versus the young, men versus the women, and it’s crazy because I feel like if you look at just our culture and even our music, there’s so much outward manifestation of all that self-hate. Hip-hop has been wildly misogynistic for that. Now the women getting their lick back, they got us in a chokehold. Light-skinned women have something to say about dark-skinned women, people saying Beyonce is trying to be white. How many times does Beyonce have to tell you how ultimately proud she is to carry the flag of the Black woman and do photo shoots and albums like Black is King.

How do you personally perceive the significance of album streams and numbers in today’s music landscape? Do they hold a particular meaning or influence on your artistic journey?

You have to lean into the process. Nothing great that I’ve ever done has been in pursuit of a sale, in pursuit of a commodity, or how it will be received or consumed. It’s been just honest. Some of my experience, whether that was conscious or something more commercial, it’s always come from a real place, so any plaque I ever got wasn’t because I sat down and I was like, “Today, I’m going to try to sell a million copies.” It never worked out like that. So I just don’t know if that’s a viable way to approach it, because it’s enough of that, right? Isn’t there enough music that you hear and you’re like, “Okay, this was made purely to try to appeal to commercial masses, there’s no feeling, there’s no soul in it, and this could have been performed by any artist.” I definitely don’t want to make something that you could take this same song, and anybody could be doing it, and you wouldn’t think twice about it, because then it’s not personal enough to me.

How do you navigate the experience of past interviews resurfacing and going viral, particularly when they showcase your personal opinions on various topics?

I try to stay off of it. I try to protect my piece. Honestly, with most social media. I just send it to my team and have them post things to communicate with people, but reading too many things isn’t good for your mental health and time, but I think also like — I’m conscious of that these days. I’m conscious of that. I take care of what I say because I already know once it’s on the record, then it’s there for good, even when I’m talking about Beyoncé, I’m like, “Okay this is something somebody will disagree with but this isn’t that controversial.” You know what I think at a large level is just learning in the art of communication, that it’s possible to stand for something without always having to be against someone. That is something I keep in mind, because oftentimes while we’re in this cycle of judgment and finger-pointing and demonization, whatever it is, we forget to include the fact that everybody’s just playing a role. The most wicked man is being manipulated in the universe, these dark forces exist, even the things I talked about in Hip-Hop, and how we tear each other down. It’s like, we’re just acting out a plan that was built for us black people didn’t just wake up one day and be like, “Yeah, we should hate each other.” It’s a result of hundreds of years of intentional misinformation and confusion.

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