Multi-platinum rapper/producer Vic Mensa has released “Eastside Girl,” his third major song of the year, via Roc Nation. Vic teamed with fellow Grammy-nominated rapper, singer, and producer Ty Dolla $ign for the house-influenced anthem, tapping into his long running love affair with the genre that began with his evergreen fan favorite 2014 single “Down On My Luck” (he recently showcased his skills as a DJ in a clip where he mashed up the two songs here). Speaking of the innate chemistry of the collaboration Vic states, “Ty is one of my favorite musicians and people to collaborate with. I pulled up to his studio to give him some of my weed brand 93BOYZ and he was working on a bunch of House music. I’ve been wanting to return to House ever since I made ‘Down On My Luck’ so it just made a lot of sense. Ty had played the guitar line already and it was giving me a surf-rock vibe so I started going a California direction with the lyrics then I programmed some House drums and samples. We were really just smoking and vibing and Eastside Girl is what came out.”
Vic Mensa has just dropped his third major song of the year, titled “Eastside Girl,” under Roc Nation. Teaming up with fellow Grammy-nominated artist Ty Dolla $ign, the duo delivers a house-influenced anthem that harks back to Vic’s enduring love for the genre, which first manifested in his beloved 2014 single “Down On My Luck.”
Accompanying the single is a captivating music video directed by Danielle Alston and creatively overseen by Vic himself. In a playful and humorous twist, Vic portrays a pool hustler trying to charm a group of girls, but fate has a different plan for him. Shot in a pool hall on Chicago’s far west side, the video pays homage to “The Color of Money” and was inspired by a real-life game of pool played by Ty and Vic in Ty’s studio.
“Ty is one of my favorite musicians and people to collaborate with,” Vic said of the collaboration. “I pulled up to his studio to give him some of my weed brand 93BOYZ and he was working on a bunch of House music. I’ve been wanting to return to House ever since I made ‘Down On My Luck’ so it just made a lot of sense. Ty had played the guitar line already and it was giving me a surf-rock vibe so I started going a California direction with the lyrics then I programmed some House drums and samples. We were really just smoking and vibing and Eastside Girl is what came out.”
Adding more allure to the release, the single’s cover art features international supermodel and jewelry designer Adesuwa, with whom Vic has collaborated for his upcoming album since their meeting in Accra in 2021. Adesuwa sports a unique grill designed by Alligator Jesus, and the fans had the final say in selecting the cover art through a poll on Vic’s Instagram.
With “Eastside Girl,” Vic Mensa once again proves his creative prowess, fusing captivating music with visually stunning artistry to captivate his audience and solidify his place in the music industry.
Vic Mensa was recently spotted in New York City, according to TMZ. As the outlet caught up with him, Mensa delivered a freestyle alluding to star Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant.
“My mama keep telling me to stop, I can’t / the second time they caught me with that gun: damn, I feel like Ja Morant,” he rapped.
The lines refer to Morant brandishing a gun on social media two times, resulting in a suspension. While Mensa used the situation as inspiration for some bars, he then offered benedictions for Morant and noted that he hopes Morant can grow from the situation.
“I think God blessed Ja Morant, man,” said Mensa. “I pray that that brother gets it together and he figures it out because he’s too brilliant and so talented. He’s got a gift, he’s got a real gift. So, I don’t want to see him have to go down that path because he’s so good.”
Morant has faced much scrutiny for showing off his guns on social media. Chandler Parsons, who played for the Grizzlies from 2016 to 2019, suggested that Morant endure a year-long suspension. Mensa, however, continues to show support for Morant.
“I think God blessed him,” said Mensa. “I’m not gonna say anything to disparage him. There’s enough people doing that.”
The Memphis Grizzlies suspended superstar Ja Morant on Sunday, pending an NBA investigation. It came as a result of, for the second time in 2023, Morant appearing on Instagram Live with a gun. The first time occurred in March at a Denver nightclub. That incident led to an eight-game suspension for Morant. The second, which went viral on social on May 13, appeared to occur while Morant was cruising with longtime friend Davonte Pack. Morant has since released a statement about the incident.
The latest figure to share their take on the situation is rapper Vic Mensa, who was interviewed by TMZ in New York. Mensa’s take focused more on supporting Morant than actively discussing the situation. “I think God blessed Ja Morant, man,” Mensa told TMZ. “I pray that that brother gets it together and he figures it out because he’s too brilliant and so talented. He’s got a gift, he’s got a real gift. So, I don’t want to see him have to go down that path because he’s so good. I think God blessed him,” he continued. “I’m not gonna say anything to disparage him. There’s enough people doing that.”
It’s unclear how severely Morant will be punished for this latest incident. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said he was “shocked” by the video, and expressed disappointment over Morant’s relapse into such behavior. However, the NBA will have to find a way to show their stance on the issue while also acknowledging that they are a business and Morant is a major revenue draw. Fans have called for everything from no punishment to a full-season suspension. However, this is a developing story and any updates will be found here on HotNewHipHop.
The west coast is spoiled when it comes to weed. Not only do we have some of the best brands on the market — California is still the capital of weed in the United States, that’s not up for debate — but even our celebrity brands are high quality. Seth Rogen’s Houseplant, Bella Thorne’s Forbidden Flowers, and Shavo Odadjian’s 22Red (also available in NV/AZ) are all legit top-shelf lines that can compete with the very best strains on the market. And while I don’t think that’s going to change anytime soon, as more states and cities legalize recreational weed usage, brands nationwide are going to keep coming for California’s crown.
This brings us to the latest celebrity weed brand — Vic Mensa’s 93 Boyz. Right off the bat, here’s what I like about 93 Boyz: instead of relying on the star power of Mensa, the brand focuses on the fact that it’s the first black-owned cannabis brand in Chicago. The weed is Chicago-owned, Chicago grown, hand-trimmed, and makes reinvesting in the community core to the overall 93 Boyz mission.
The community-first branding isn’t lip service, either. 93 Boyz is made in partnership between Illinois growers Aerīz and Mensa’s nonprofit SAVEMONEYSAVELIFE, an Indigenous and Black-led organization that advocates for sustainable community change. 93 Boyz has committed to using portions of its profits to sponsor initiatives aimed at prison reform and equity in the cannabis space.
The products available from the brand include flowers, pre-rolls, and vape cartridges. To get a sense of what 93 Boyz has to offer, we sampled each form factor. Here are our thoughts, starting with my favorite of the trio.
Before we get into the flavors and the high, we need to talk about this packaging. I don’t like it. I’ll always take a glass jar over a thick zip lock bag, I find that it tends to keep the bud fresher, and stickier, and helps to retain the natural flavors.
Both my Jealousy Thin Mints and Jet Fuel strains lacked stickiness. Would a glass jar have stopped that from happening? We can’t say for sure, but I’m going to guess “yes,” considering I have weed that is from 2022 in my bedroom and it’s still sticky as f*ck.
Luckily, Jealousy Thin Mints and Jet Fuel still provided a lot of flavor and a strong high — at the end of the day that’s all that matters.
The Jealousy Thin Mints is a hybrid strain made from a crossbreed of, as you might’ve guessed, Jealousy and Thin Mint, two beloved strains, and the result is great. It’s sweet and tantalizing on the nose, smoking through my vaporizer I tasted hints of chocolate, lavender, mint, and pine.
After just a few hits, I felt a strong full body buzz as my eyelids got heavy, and feelings of euphoria rushed in. This is a great, feel-good strain, and while it’s incredibly relaxing, I never felt too tired to get up, manage tasks, and generally just change my environment to experience the high in new ways.
This is a stay-at-home high though — I couldn’t imagine myself out in the open while on this stuff, it’s too relaxing.
Dane Rivera
This brings me to the Jet Fuel, which offers the opposite experience. The strain is bred from Aspen OG and High Country Diesel and has that pungent skunky smell typical of Diesel strains. That experience transfers over to the taste as well, it’s earthy, citrusy, and a bit peppery but with a sweetness that balances out the harsher aspects.
The high had me hyperactive and euphoric, I wasn’t content with sitting around and taking in the experience so I threw some headphones on and went for a mid-afternoon walk. This was the best experience, I found myself fixated on the colors around me, particularly transfixed by blue sky and white clouds.
I probably looked insane walking around looking at the sky, but I was too in my own world to care. Unfortunately, this was followed by a very sluggish crash that had me pretty tuned out for the rest of the day. That could be easily remedied by smoking more though. Or maybe a solid nap.
The Bottom Line:
Both strains offer a pretty great experience. For flavor and relaxation, go with the Jealousy Thin Mints, if you’re looking to be high on the go, Jet Fuel is your herb. Just be careful with the latter’s crash.
Starting off with the packaging, I wish the pre-rolls gave me more. All that was available on the label was the strain’s THC content, nothing about what type of strain I was smoking or the terpenes. Obviously, I was able to find this information, but it would be great if it was on the packaging.
93 Boyz pre-rolls come in .5 and 1.0-gram sizes, both form factors are pretty small. As a relatively heavy smoker, the pre-roll was good for a nice strong head change but it isn’t the type of thing I’d want to share with another smoker.
Lotto is a crossbreed of GG4 and Do-Si-Dos and sports a super skunky diesel smell. Luckily the taste is more citrusy than it is earthy and harsh, with a strong zesty finish that gave me a sneezing sensation. The high was a feel-good stress buster, strong enough to feel the buzz but light enough to keep me on my feet.
I can see myself smoking this tiny joint during a break between tasks.
The Bottom Line:
A nice strong steady high that results in a refreshing head change. A great option for those who want to get high but don’t want to be pushed into the psychedelic stratosphere.
The 93 Boyz vape carts are pretty standard stuff, a mix of plastic and metal housing a thick distillate that fits into standard battery vape pens.
Super Donutz is a cross between Banana Creme Cake and Jealousy and that lineage results in sweetened top notes with a bright citrusy character, and a little bit of funk on the backend.
The high knocked me the f*ck out. After a single hit, a rush of euphoric feelings hit my senses, which had me supremely couch-locked. It’s the sort of high that makes you feel good to lie down and do nothing. So if that’s not your speed, be wary — there is no conquering that feeling for a few hours.
My suggestion would be that if you plan on doing anything while under the influence of Super Donutz, you get it prepared in advance. That includes getting your snacks, picking any movie or tv show you plan to watch ahead of time, or queuing up the right playlist.
The Bottom Line:
A highly euphoric experience that’ll make you content with laying around and doing nothing. Just don’t try to do anything else (unless you have a sturdier constitution than me). This is the sort of high that comes across like a mini vacation. Save it for your most stressful days when you need a respite from all the noise.
93 Boyz isn’t just a celebrity-endorsed brand that tries to sell weed on a big name. It’s a passion project from Vic Mensa that reflects how much he cares for both the city he calls home and good quality herb.
93 Boyz is a brand exclusive to Illinois, shop the herb at a dispensary near you here.
Vic Mensa‘s new song “Swish,” a scorching collaboration with Chance The Rapper and G-Eazy is the talk of the internet. The reunion between the late blog-era rappers is evoking a sense of nostalgia, while providing fresh sounds. Equally as buzzy is the song’s video, which features the three artists making the rounds across Chicago.
In the video, Vic, Chance, and G-Eazy are seen riding motorcycles throughout the city, riding trains with twerking women, and enjoying dinner in Chicago-style diners. At the end of the video is a dedication to sports drifter Jake Rio.
Since the beginning of his career, Vic has been labeled a “conscious rapper,” among the likes of Chance, as well as Kendrick Lamar. “Swish” is a more bouncy, party-ready record than anything he’s done in the past. In an interview with Paper from this past February, Vic revealed that while he doesn’t mind the title, he does find a sense of cognitive dissonance when he makes music outside of the realm.
“I think the place where it becomes sticky is that it’s not the entirety of my being as a person,” said Mensa. “So if I want to make a ratchet-ass song for the strip clubs, I feel very conflicted. Can I even do this? That’s where it becomes conflicting for me.”
