The Never-Ending Search for the Truth
Fighting for survival in his youth resulted in some deep-seated thought patterns Mensa has had to gradually unlearn. “Growing up in Chicago was America 101 in a lot of ways,” he says. “It was a beautiful, traumatic experience. There are a lot of things I have to work through emotionally and mentally because I come from such a violent environment.” At the same time, Mensa credits his surroundings for influencing his art, along with his “ability to speak truth to power and [his] perspective on affluence and poverty in a significant way.” Though it hasn’t been easy to carry the torch of his forebears, it’s a duty he shoulders proudly. “I’m grateful for having mentors that are from the lineage of The Black Panther Party,” he adds, “for having mentors that are OG gang members and poets and authors. Today, I feel equipped to be the best me I can be and be a champion for my family, even it was difficult as fuck to get here.”
Recently, Mensa has been spending more time in Ghana, building relationships and being with his family. Tuning into his culture has enabled him to create new structures in massive ways, such as holding the Black Star Line Festival this past January. The event, founded by Mensa and Chance the Rapper, was launched in hopes of connecting Black Americans to their African roots through communal cultural celebration. After a successful execution, Mensa reminisces on its euphoric times. “[We were] just having fun and working with the artists,” he says. “Staying out late and listening to music. Having conversations on the beach, watching the sunrise after being at the club all night, riding motorcycles through the hood.” Mensa, aware of the African-American community’s lack of accessibility to their past, simply wishes to share with others the same kinship he’s found. “To have that connection to my ancestry, I gotta know it’s a privilege,” he says. “Because most of my closest friends don’t have that. I believe that knowing where you come from gives you a roadmap to where you wanna go.”
Throughout his career, Mensa has fluctuated through a multitude of musical styles. Most often, his sound takes the form of hard-hitting, conscious hip hop, dancing with elements of trap and R&B. In 2019, he forayed into punk music with the album “93 Punks.” Though this was a bit of an unexpected turn for the artist, Mensa cites he was “just having fun, honestly.” Growing up, the rapper had always listened to rock before hip hop. He loved playing guitar, listening to Green Day, Rage Against the Machine and Joy Division, so it felt natural to go in that direction. “I don’t feel confined to a single genre, or really subscribe to categorization in general,” he says. “I just make what I feel.”
Mensa’s intentions behind getting tattoos stems back to his initial lure to art. “I feel like I’m always trying to represent myself through art,” he says. “With tattoos, I’m trying to symbolize something in my life or my ideals. I love art, you know what I mean? That’s expressed through my clothing, my conversations, my actions. My tattoos are just another way.” In terms of his favorite tattoo, Mensa proudly asserts that “it’s always gonna be [his] first one”—a black panther on his shoulder with the words “Free Huey” written above it, an homage to the political activist and co-founder of The Black Panther Party. “It’s just so pure,” he says. “From when I was 16, it was done in a ghetto apartment on the West Side. I’m gonna have a hard time beating that one. You know how people get terrible first tattoos? I got a hard first tattoo.”
Though Mensa stands atop a mountain of accomplishments, the rapper still sees it as only the beginning. Garnering success has never just been about enjoying the fruits of his labor. Through every undertaking, he upholds his responsibility to give voice to those without one, and to leave the world in a better place. “I have so many projects,” he says. “Ultimately, I see my future going in an incredibly, unbelievably upward trajectory. I see my music career, following and creative output multiplying by 10. I see my fans multiplying by 100. I see my potency, lyricism, musicality, hooks and production multiplying by 1,000.”
Beyond music, Mensa projects his philanthropic impact to raise into the hundreds of millions of dollars, so that he may continue honoring previous generations and setting the stage for every upcoming one: “That’s just the way I see things.”