Vic Mensa is a musician known to many for his unique art style and vivid expression through songs. However, Vic does not rely on music alone to express himself. Through various social media platforms, especially Instagram, Vic displays his individual identity to his 700,000 plus followers. Despite being most notably known for his music, all fronts of Vic’s life are shown on Instagram. Vic makes an effort to showcase his strong political views, accomplishments, hobbies, vices and downfalls within his social media, generating an authentic look into his own personal life. Given Vic’s diverse profile and the transparent nature of his posts, it is no wonder that he is considered more than just a musician.
In an interview with National Public Radio, Vic Mensa said that “very often we generalize people as being one thing. He’s a Republican. He’s bad. He’s a Democrat. He’s bad. When we’re all bad, good – like, there are so many different emotions and characteristics to every human being” (NPR). Vic Mensa is no stranger to generalizations, and he actively combats this through his social media where he shows many facets of life. This is made most evident through Vic’s portrayal of his ‘Spatial self’ (Schwartz 2). Vic’s posts on Instagram show him doing all types of activities which promotes both his music and identity. These activities range from his business promotions, to his hobbies and passions, and most importantly his values and downfalls. The diversity of content allows Vic to present many aspects of his life, breaking him free of generalizations and presenting an all encompassing self on social media. Through Vic’s profile you can see him enjoy life by skateboarding with friends, striving for change through his many foundations and charitable donations, and expressing his struggles with mental health and addiction. The variance of content from post to post shows that Vic’s ‘online life’ is intertwined with his reality, creating authenticity. However, some may see this as ‘calculated authenticity’ due to Vic’s controversial past (Smith and Watson). Previously Vic was a reckless individual, but as he matured he changed and erased his past from his social media accounts, hence the reason he does not have a post prior to 2020 despite being prevalent for years before that. Despite this, Vic is very open about his vices and creates authenticity through his character development and growth, using his agency to show that he is better then he once was (Nichols 4).
A primary use of Vic’s Instagram is his advocation for human rights and his strive to make the world a better place. Vic has never been shy about voicing his opinions, and this is shown by his various political posts. Vic uses his influence to advocate for others, as exemplified by his Instagram posts which show support for the LGBTQ+ community in Ghana, and his call to ceasefire in Gaza. This creates another stream of identity for Vic, something that Paolo and Treré would describe as a “protest identity” (Paolo and Treré). Voicing his opinions on Instagram’s platform shows the true values held by Vic, that being peace and love. However, Vic believes that actions speak louder than words and has multiple endeavors which he promotes on Instagram. These include his charitable donations which helped build clean water supplies in three villages within Ghana, as well as his help in building a homeless shelter in Chicago. Vic went above and beyond when performing these charitable acts, and was not only present in Ghana during the construction of the water supplies, but was also sleeping outside with the homeless during the creation of the shelter. Vic shared videos of the process where he not only helped better people’s lives, but connected with them as well. Human connection is something that Vic prioritizes through his social media. On Instagram, Vic uses various means to connect with others such as the utilization of the new ‘channels’ feature where he posts voice notes on his daily thoughts, the open comment section where he interacts with fans, and the various shout outs to his many supporters. The use of social media allows Vic to show his priorities as well as appreciation, giving him a down to earth and authentic identity.
Perhaps the most authentic portion of Vic’s social media is his honesty when it comes to his personal struggles, and his clear prescribed individuality. Vic is very transparent with things that he himself has battled against, such as mental health. Talking about mental health is a priority for Vic, as seen when he appeared on Larry King’s show and said that mental health was a taboo topic for men, and that “It’s so important to put it on wax now, man – to talk about things. Because you never know who might be going through a similar pain.” (Scott). It is through his personal struggles and pain that Vic has dedicated his newest album “Victor”. When announcing the album on Instagram he captioned that the album was about “redemption, resilience, self love, faith and freedom”. Showing vulnerability through his art and social media gives another factor of authenticity to Vic, as he dedicated his feed to the truth about his life, whether that encompasses pain or pleasure. Vic stands on his own as an individual, and has even dismissed the trend culture associated with social media saying “I take inspiration from things that have happened in the past musically, and things that happen in the real world around me right now, but not social media trends” (Eckardt). Being an individual is part of Vic’s multifaceted identity.
Despite being known primarily as a musician, Vic shows that his identity goes beyond that. The Instagram page of Vic Mensa displays his life in a very authentic and genuine light, touching base on his passions, struggles, good deeds and many more. Through the use of social media Vic allows fans to connect with him and see him as more than a musician, as he displays the many aspects of the identity which makes him, him.
Works Cited:
“On ‘The Autobiography,’ Vic Mensa Faces His Personal Demons And Emerges Stronger.” All Things Considered, National Public Radio, Inc. (NPR), 2017.
Gerbaudo, Paolo, and Emiliano Treré. “In Search of the ‘We’ of Social Media Activism: Introduction to the Special Issue on Social Media and Protest Identities.” Information, Communication & Society, vol. 18, no. 8, 2015, pp. 865–71, https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2015.1043319.
Raz, Schwartz. “The Spatial Self: Location-Based Identity Performance on Social Media.” Cornell Tech NYC. https://mylearningspace.wlu.ca/d2l/le/content/499802/viewContent/3446170/View
Margaret Nichols. “Identity Crafting: Reading the Agency and Art Implicit in Selfies Identity Crafting: Reading the Agency and Art Implicit in Selfies” Bridges. https://mylearningspace.wlu.ca/d2l/le/content/499802/viewContent/3446150/View
Steph Eckardt. “Vic Mensa Is More Pleased with the Election Results Than You Might Think.” Culture Diet. https://www.wmagazine.com/story/vic-mensa-uggs-ambassador-stays-away-from-social-media
Nicolas-Tyrell Scott. “Vic Mensa is still on a Mission to Transform Chicago.” Huck. https://www.huckmag.com/article/vic-mensa-interview-v-tape-chicago
Smith and Watson. “6. Virtually Me: A Toolbox about Online Self-Presentation (2014)” Maize Books. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/maize/mpub9739969/1:12/–life-writing-in-the-long-run-a-smith-watson-autobiography?rgn=div1;view=fulltext
“@Vicmensa.” Instagram. (2020). https://www.instagram.com/vicmensa/
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