Rapper Vic Mensa is beaten, tased and shot by police in the new video for his “16 Shots” single dedicated to 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, who was fatally shot 16 times by Chicago police in 2014.
The official music video, released exclusive through Tidal, depicts Vic as a victim of police brutality. The imagery is intense, but incredibly powerful, as it shows the rapper being confronted by law enforcement, who intimidate him, beat him, and eventually gun him down. But, despite the officers’ assaults, Vic is able to get up and take his stance. The video also includes parts of the dash-cam video taken at the scene of McDonald’s shooting. The footage was released in 2015, and sparked countless protests across the country.
“All my earliest memories with police officers were like, ‘Hey, get your (expletive) hands out that hoodie before I punch you in the (expletive) face!'” Mensa said. “‘What the (expletive) did I do? What’d I do? What law did I break?’ Like, you live with that enough and there’s not really any turning back.”
https://twitter.com/VicMensa/status/789259177080172544
Mensa released his EP “There’s Alot Going On” in June. He performed last month at AAHH! Fest in Union Park and at Lollapalooza in July.
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