Last year, it looked like Vic Mensa, the genre-hopping Chicago rapper who had gone through the showbiz wringer since exploding onto the scene at the tail end of the blog era, was finally making his comeback and receiving his due with the I Tape EP. He’d returned to form, reunited with his longtime friend and collaborator Chance The Rapper, and regained the swagger that had made him an XXL Freshman in 2014. Then, the pandemic struck, effectively shutting down the momentum for Vic and pretty much every other rapper in the game.
However, he hasn’t let that setback stop him from completing his comeback. Instead, he kept working his and Chance’s collaboration, “Shelter,” performing on The Late Show and offering their own stripped-down live performance filmed at Chance’s house. Vic also continued releasing videos from the new project, including “Fr33dom,” and today, the video for the Just Blaze-produced “Victory.”
Equal parts celebratory and defiant, the track finds Vic slinging some of his slickest punchlines over a signature, triumphant-sounding Just Blaze beat, addressing the perception of his fall-off and expressing his love for the Windy City. The video, shot in black-and-white, is a simple affair in which Vic takes a literal victory lap around his city, then posts up in a parking lot to watch motorcycles burn rubber as he performs his witty, validating verses. With a C Tape no doubt in the works, it looks like Vic Mensa is back on track to retake the pole position in rap’s race for greatness.
Watch Vic Mensa’s “Victory” video above.