Vic Mensa has announced that he’s putting the finishing touches on his long-awaited sophomore studio album. The Roc Nation signee, who dropped his debut studio album The Autobiography over five years ago, gave an update on the status of its follow-up while speaking with L’Officiel Fashion Book Australia.
Mensa, who appeared alongside Chance The Rapper on the cover of the publication’s October 2022 issue, revealed that the core of the album has already been recorded and that he’s just waiting on material from outside contributors to prep it for release.
“Yes. My album is complete,” confirmed Mensa. “At this point, I’m just waiting on a couple of feature verses and tweaking the mixes, but the creation of the album is complete. This is my second full-length album. My first one being [in] 2017 is The Autobiography.”
He continued, “This is my second full-length album and is inspired by everything from African Highlife music to ’90s Hip Hop and Punk, and Rock and Roll, and all the things that inspire me. I’m like a smorgasbord of influences. They all exist within this album and the conceptual direction is themed around redemption and follows my own personal growth in the last year.”
The Chicago native continued, adding, “This is my second full-length album and is inspired by everything from African Highlife music to ’90s Hip Hop and Punk, and Rock and Roll, and all the things that inspire me. I’m like a smorgasbord of influences. They all exist within this album and the conceptual direction is themed around redemption and follows my own personal growth in the last year.”
According to Mensa, fans can rest assured that all of the material on the album will be relatively fresh despite the extended wait, given that much of the songwriting for the project occurred earlier this year.
“I started [the album] about a year ago and I finished writing most of it way earlier this year in about the Spring and it’s following my journey in the last year,” Vic Mensa told L’Officiel Fashion Book Australia. “I’ve been sober a year. I’ve been revolutionizing the way that I think, the way that I act in the world. This album explores many of the pieces of that personal journey of growth.”
Additionally, Vic Mensa and Chance The Rapper joined forces to organize the new Black Star Line Festival in Ghana. The “Wrath” collaborators announced the Marcus Garvey-inspired music event will take place in Accra’s Black Star Square on January 6, 2023.
