Today, June 6, is the birthday of Chicago rapper and Roc Nation signee Vic Mensa. Vic is now 25 years of age.

Born Victor Kwesi Mensah, the rock-inspired MC grew up in the Hyde Park neighborhood on the Southside of Chicago and teamed up with other young artists like Chance The Rapper, Joey Purps, Towkio and more to form the collective SaveMoney. The crew called themselves SaveMoney because they wanted to try to do everything possible to release their music to fans for free.

After growing buzz on the Internet, Vic opened up for the likes of J. Cole, Wale and Danny Brown and gained a rep for dope live performances and freestyles. Mensa dropped his breakthrough mixtape INNANETAPE in 2013 and was chosen as a member of the 2014 XXL Freshman class alongside his SaveMoney affiliate Chano. From there, things only went up for Vic, who signed with Jay Z's Roc Nation in April 2015, Kanye West before dropping his first EP under the label, the politically charged There's A Lot Going On in May 2016.

In July 2017, Vic finally unleashed his debut album, The Autobiography. During a listening for the album, Hov showered Mensa in some pretty effusive praise. “Vic is a very special talent. He can do everything – sing well, rap well," offered the rap icon. "He even engineers himself sometimes. He’s an incredible artist, like a once in a lifetime artist.”

Following the release of his debut LP, Vic accompanied Hov on his 4:44 tour in the fall of 2017. Responding to a stream of mass shootings that afflicted the U.S. throughout 2017 and 2018, Vic performed alongside his fellow Chicagoan, Common, at the anti-gun violence rally, March for Our Lives, on March 24, 2018.

Happy Birthday, Vic Mensa!

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