Drawing from James Baldwin and Kwame Nkrumah, Vic Kweku Mensa delivers an empowering talk on unifying the diaspora. He addresses the divide and conquer mentality, the shared experiences and pain inflicted by oppressors on the Continent and the diaspora, slavery and its ramifications, the imposition of imperialism, and how neocolonialism has continued to facilitate and enable the oppression of a people, specifically former colonies of Western nations. Through his talk, he adeptly takes us through the intentional way in which the divide and conquer approach has been employed over an over again to disconnect and disenfranchise, as well as provides three possible solutions. Vic Mensa is a rapper from Chicago, Illinois. He released his first project, the Straight Up EP at age 16 and was previously a member of the indie group Kids These Days. He also founded Chicago hip hop collective SAVEMONEY with Chance The Rapper.
Following the disbandment of Kids These Days, Mensa went solo and released INNANETAPE in 2013. The tape was met with positive reviews as critics praised Mensa’s ability to sing, rap and meld genres.
“Down On My Luck” brought Vic Mensa into the global spotlight, earning praise from established fans and new listeners alike.
In 2016, Vic released There’s A Lot Going On, his first project for three years. Vic announced during the Beats1 debut of There’s A Lot Going On that his upcoming album would be released before the end of 2016. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx