Vic Mensa Says He’s Taking Himself Seriously As A Producer On Next Album

Vic Mensa said he was taking himself seriously as a producer on his next album.

“It’s the first album that I’ve really taken myself completely seriously as a producer,” he said in The Verge interview.

The Chicago rapper named Apple’s Voice Memos his go-to tool for saving songs and other ideas. “Everything starts there for me.”

That next record already has a business plan behind it. UnitedMasters announced its partnership with Mensa in September, with a new full-length album set for 2027. The company put the return of Innanetape first on its release schedule, bringing the 2013 mixtape to streaming services on September 30.

The deal also included plans for live shows.

It followed sundiata, which Mensa had released independently through his own website in June. UnitedMasters described a partnership that would support his work in music, film, media and commerce while keeping ownership with the artist.

Fans in his hometown got a look back at the music that helped build that career just days before the interview was published. Mensa played Garcia’s Chicago in the West Loop on October 28 as part of his four-city “Innane Tour.”

Chance The Rapper joined him for “Suitcase,” a bonus track on the streaming edition of Innanetape and Joey Purp opened the show. The lineup brought longtime collaborators into the same small room as Mensa revisited the project 13 years after its release.

His work outside records has grown this year, too.

“The Vic Mensa Show” was announced in August with 24 episodes planned for its first season and Chance booked for the premiere. Rapsody, Lena Waithe and Aja Monet were among the announced guests.

“Music, culture and politics have always been intrinsically intertwined in my practice and in the larger tradition from which I emerge,” Mensa told Billboard about the show.

The series paired Mass Appeal with ORANJ, Mensa’s production company. Pickup Media and Blank Square Productions joined him as executive producers, with distribution planned across Spotify, Apple and YouTube.