Show Notes
Six days before the midterms, Vic sits down with Tennessee state Representative Justin J. Pearson, the Memphis organizer now running for Congress. They start with Angela Davis and the idea that every revolution meets a counterrevolution. Then they get into the fight over Memphis’s congressional district, Elon Musk’s data centers in Black neighborhoods, the Black church as a base for political power, and why Justin says what this country is short on is not resources but political courage. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3rd. 📱 Follow @vicmensa · @justinjpearson 🎤 Guest: Justin J. Pearson This episode includes a conversation about suicide. If you're struggling, you're not alone. In the US, call or text 988 anytime. (00:00) Angela Davis and the counterrevolution (04:49) How Tennessee split up Memphis (08:57) "Willing to die for this" (18:18) Zohran, Bowdoin and social reproduction (23:50) Elon Musk's data centers in Memphis (33:36) Knocking on Juicy J's door (35:54) The church and the story of Joseph (44:38) Hair as resistance (49:33) Tyre Nichols and funding the people (01:05:32) Getting big money out of politics Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
More from The Vic Mensa Show
Vic Mensa trades sets on the bench with Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the Michigan doctor running to become the first Muslim elected to the United States Senate, then takes it inside for a conversation about faith as accountability and the roots of Islamophobia. They talk Arab, Muslim and Black solidarity in Detroit, what it means to speak plainly about Palestine and why Abdul sees American health care as a racket. It all comes back to one question: what would we build if we treated all our kids like all our kids? 📱 Follow @vicmensa · @abdulelsayed 🎤 Guest: Dr. Abdul El-Sayed (00:00) Let’s put some plates on (03:27) “A terrorist to the Senate” (06:29) Faith as accountability (11:25) The DNA of Islamophobia (17:13) Henry Ford, Arab Detroit and Motown (20:25) Arab, Muslim and Black solidarity (29:22) Palestine and the price of speaking up (34:35) Top five Detroit artists (37:24) The health care racket (45:51) Getting money out of politics Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Vic Mensa sits down with Grammy-Award winning rapper, activist and entrepreneur Killer Mike inside Chairman Fred Hampton's childhood home, the Hampton House. They get into the Black Panther Party's legacy, Cuba and Haiti, growing up with police in the family, Cop City, and the "move like a capitalist" line that turned Mike into a meme. Mike breaks down what "by any means necessary" means to him, from his great-grandparents' farm in Tuskegee to his relationship with Governor Brian Kemp, and lays out a plan to fund the movement one small donation at a time, starting with the Hampton House.
Vic Mensa hosts legendary guest and pro skater, Tony Hawk. They deep dive into skating culture, and Vic shares how much Tony Hawk's Pro Skater meant to him as a kid. They talk about the business behind being a pro skater, the iconic tricks, the love, the haters and even Tony Hawk's direct connection to music, and how much Black people love him. 📱 Follow @vicmensa · @tonyhawk 🎤 Guest: Tony Hawk (00:00) Cold open (00:55) Rage Against the Machine and the Pro Skater soundtrack (04:04) Virgil, Pharrell and skating on the South Side (09:01) Dead Kennedys, Police Truck and Gang of Four (16:51) Skate videos and the Bones Brigade (25:10) Learning kickflips alone (30:25) Building skateparks from Navajo Nation to Ghana (36:37) An outcast in an outcast world (43:03) The 900 and what failure teaches (54:34) Rodney Mullen or Nietzsche Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Imagine getting so high and thinking… I am the internet. Vic Mensa sits down and takes us through the Innanet Tape era, circa 2013. The who, the what and the whys of how this project was created, friendships gained and lost, and what doors creating this work of art opened for him as an artist. Now, in 2026, The Innanet Tapes will be released on DSPs and streaming everywhere, on September 30th. Check it out. 📱 Follow @vicmensa (00:00) Cold open (00:32) Kids These Days and the breakup (04:59) Do or die: the first solo project (08:48) The Chicago blueprint: Common, Kanye and Lupe (11:13) Independent then and now (12:56) The cover art (14:27) Finally on streaming (16:57) Why orange? (17:57) Reading the liner notes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Vic sits down with Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Durand Bernarr to talk about the cost of being loved by the public, why Durand is letting go of labels and the queer genius behind Black church music. The two also perform their collaboration "Homesick," off Durand's album Bernarr. Follow @vicmensa · @durandbernarr Guest: Durand Bernarr (00:00) Cold open and live performance (04:26) Grateful and still unhappy: fame and personal space (09:41) Not hating, just not your target audience (13:35) Mango Butter and being everything at once (16:42) Mr. Brady and homophobia in the Black community (20:28) Ghana and the colonizer in the mind (22:29) The queer genius of the Black church (24:58) Prince, D'Angelo, Michael and the R&B lean (30:29) Sugar Family, three personalities and 20 years in (37:46) Real success and asking before you hug Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices