On one of the most politically charged evenings in recent memory, Vic Mensa took to Jimmy Kimmel Live to rap his anti-police brutality anthem "16 Shots," and gave a powerful performance befitting the occasion.
Mensa was joined by former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, a few band members, and half a dozen dancers dressed as ominous police in riot gear. The rapper began his performance a cappella, the better to hear the song's strong message inspired by the Laquan McDonald case.
Vic stopped suddenly towards the end of the tune, and gave an impassioned speech about song's message and how it relates to the upcoming election.
"I'm a young black man from Chicago, and I'm tired of not being able to trust the police," he said.
I want to have faith in the men and women sworn to protect me. I don't want to see another 17-year-old kid like Laquan McDonald murdered in the street. So when I hear a candidate talking about 'law and order' and 'stop and frisk is the answer to our problems'—you don't know our problems in Chicago, and you damn sure don't speak for us. Tomorrow we have the biggest election of our lifetime, so you gotta get out and vote against hate, because Donald Trump is a racist and if you don't vote, racism wins.
Fans reacted strongly to Vic's performance and statement:
