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Chicago rapper and activist VIC MENSA has shared the artwork and details of his impending new project I TAPE, out March 26 from Roc Nation. The announcement comes on the heels of a powerful performance on last night’s The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, in which Mensa was joined by Wyclef Jean and Peter CottonTale for a bespoke medley of recent single “SHELTER” and the as-yet-unreleased “FR33DOM,” both from the forthcoming I TAPE release. The performance was directed by Andre Muir, who was also behind the artful and melancholic music video for “SHELTER.” Whereas the music video was a visual metaphor for the perilous impact that Covid-19 has had on the Black community, last night’s performance honed in on some of the songs’ lyrical themes, challenging the power structure that perpetuates systems of overpolicing and unjust incarceration. The performance was rendered even more poignant by the inclusion of a poem written and recited by Julius Jones, who is currently
Chicago rapper and activist VIC MENSA has tapped music heavyweights Chance The Rapper and Wyclef Jean for “Shelter,” a powerful single that challenges the American system responsible for a history of overcriminalization, racial injustice, and issues that affect the lives of people in underserved communities. “Shelter is a spiritual note, a healing frequency…”
states Mensa. “It was inspired not by Hollywood or Paris, but by what’s going on on the ground – in the real world, with the real people.”
Adds Wyclef, “The journey of this song was so important. It’s very crucial we, as musicians, use our voice to represent those who are not so easily able to be heard.”
Vic Mensa Posts Shelter Collaboration With Chance The Rapper And Wyclef Jean Friday, 05 February 2021 Written by Jon Stickler
Vic Mensa has teamed up with Chance The Rapper and Wyclef Jean for a new song.
The powerful, politically-charged Shelter shines a light on injustices facing America’s marginalised communities, specifically police brutality and the criminal justice system.
Driven by acoustic guitar, the Chicago natives go back to back on the verses which are punctuated by Haitian rap legend Jean s contribution for the song s poignant hook.
It s accompanied by a stirring video directed by Andre Muir and serves as the first preview of Mensa s forthcoming I TAPE project, the follow-up to 2020 s V TAPE . Further details on that are expected to be revealed by Mensa in due course.
Rolling Stone Vic Mensa Taps Chance the Rapper, Wyclef Jean for New Song ‘Shelter’
Track tackles racial injustice and arrives with video that poignantly captures Covid-19’s impact on black communities
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The song is centered around a poignant guitar loop and finds the three artists tackling racial injustice and systemic inequality with righteous clarity. The song arrives with a fittingly eerie and surreal music video, directed by Andre Muir, in which bodies lie in rest on the street in a nod to the devastating impact Covid-19 has had on black communities.
“’Shelter’ is a spiritual note, a healing frequency,” Mensa said in a statement. “It was inspired not by Hollywood or Paris, but by what’s going on on the ground in the real world, with the real people.”