Vic Mensa - The Autobiography

Vic Mensa
The Autobiography
2017
Spotify

In 2017 it seems like you hear about an album about 30 seconds before it comes out. Surprise albums and mixtapes are the norm with even the biggest stars dropping their record with little lead up. That however was not the case for Vic Mensa's debut The Autobiography. With major label backing, deep roots in the Chicago hip hop scene and a tour with the Biebs all coming BEFORE this record it meant that this album had to make a statement. Mensa has been making waves outside of the studio with his participation in Black Lives Matter protests as well as his work with the Standing Rock protests against the North Dakota Access Pipeline. Sense of self is a big theme on this album with Vic taking center stage and making him as a person the central focus of the first few tracks. "Rollin Like a Stoner" is the first chance we get to see Mensa deal with addiction issues and blends in the mental stability angle a la Kid Cudi. Vic's voice is usually so clear that you can catch his meaning easily, however there are times where the words seem to become more central than the music resulting in a bit of a disconnect. His features absolutely vanish on The Autobiography; the collaboration with Weezer is just Rivers Cuomo terribly singing the intro and outro while Syd is nowhere to be found on "Gorgeous". No I.D. provides the production for the entire album and some of it works, but some of it sounds so dated and devoid of inspiration. This is not the Hip Hop of today, but nor is it the Hip Hop of tomorrow it just kind of exists in this middle zone. Vic is so focused on his words that the environment around them seems to go unconsidered.

"Coffee & Cigarettes" is a great example of what is wrong with this album. First, the beat builds and builds foreshadowing a crescendo, but it never comes, promising a lot but delivering on very little. Second, Mensa tries to squeeze so much lyrical content into the song and weave a deep tale but it just ends up being so incredibly boring because there is nothing to lock you in. You keep waiting for something to shift, for the track to change into the next gear but it never does. "Heaven on Earth" with it's chorus of "Things we lost in the fire..." is so transparent in it's attempt to get you to feel something that you can't help but roll your eyes. Vic spends so much time telling you that He's overcome the odds to get here, but He never proves it. Much like the lead up to the album it seems like it was a lot more sizzle than substance. You want him to let loose but throughout the record Vic sounds so restrained, so calm that it just misses. "We Could Be Free" should be raw and real, but instead it just sounds like a bunch platitudes and half thought through ideas. When He finally breaks it down at the end and sings through a strained voice over a bunch of strings you just end up confused rather than uplifted. A lot of thought has gone into building Mensa as the next big thing in Hip Hop, and He still may be, but this album does nothing to further that narrative.

6.2 out of 10