Victor Kwesi Mensah is making his debut in album mode on July 28, but Thursday night (July 13) he borrowed a few ears of the people in the industry for an exclusive first listen. And with the intro of someone of JAY-Z’s magnitude, how could it not be a success?
JAY-Z took the stage of an L.A. venue to praise Mensa for the “once in a lifetime artist” that he is.
“Vic is a very special talent. He can do everything – sing well, rap well. He even engineers himself sometimes. He’s an incredible artist, like a once in a lifetime artist,” the Brooklyn-bred legend proclaimed.
But Hov continued to note that even though it is an industry event, he didn’t want any of the attendees on that “industry s***.” The 4:44 artist gave an anything-but-subtle warning to everyone in the crowd that the album would be too good to just stand still, as he displayed following his demand.
The Chicagoan then took the stage to speak his piece on his debut project, stating the following:
“This album is called The Autobiography. This album is really my blood, sweat, and tears, and everything that I’ve learned up to this point in life,” the Roc Nation signee began. “I kind of had to go through a lot of different things to even be able to put this album down on wax… When I talk about this album, I often say that somebody listening to it would know me better than a casual acquaintance that has known me for twenty years, if you listen to this album and really digest it. The things that I’m saying on there are so personal and real to me, but I wanted to make it in a way that everybody could relate to those situations to their own lives… This is just my story, The Autobiography.”
The Autobiography: As Told By Vic Mensa will host features from Weezer, Syd, The-Dream, Pharrell, Saul Williams, Ty Dolla $ign, and fellow Chicago natives, Joey Purp and Chief Keef. No I.D. helms as the project’s executive producer.