Autobiography

Recording information: CRC, Chicago, IL; Eastwood, Hollywood, CA; Labren Studios, Ingelwood, CA; Paramount Studios, Hollywood, CA; Thugz Mansion Home Studio, Chicago, IL; United, Hollywood, CA; Westlake Recording Studios, West Hollywood, CA.
Named to XXL's Freshman Class of 2014, signed by Jay-Z's Roc Nation in 2015, and nominated for a Grammy in 2016 (for co-writing Kanye West's "All Day"), Vic Mensa has been on a steady rise since he opened "Family," off fellow Savemoney member Chance the Rapper's 10 Day. Bearing a plainly descriptive title, the Chicago south-sider's debut full-length also follows a couple mixtapes (one with defunct band Kids These Days), as many EPs, a batch of singles, and a profusion of appearances on tracks headlined by a cross-continental, multi-genre crop of artists. Going by this large volume of scattered output delivered with a laser-sight glare, it's conceivable that the biggest challenge Mensa faced in making The Autobiography was corralling his lifetime's worth of experiences and greater number of thoughts. The cover's crumpled scraps could be more than props. Each one of the verses, as transcribed in the booklet, contains some form of penned elaboration or correction within or beside it. Co-executive produced with Jay-Z and No I.D., a duo not averse to concision, The Autobiography is both rangy and controlled. On the mike, Mensa is ceaselessly impassioned, whether cramming syllables between knocking beats or stretching notes of hooks across gleaming synthesizers, recalling an adolescent experience with police brutality or personifying -- humanizing, even -- the individual who murdered his friend. At all times, Mensa projects a rare balanced mix of eagerness and assuredness, even avowing himself as a legend one moment, like the designation is irrefutable, and yet in "Wings" -- a masterful Pharrell Williams production -- illustrating self-doubt, depression, and chemical dependency in lacerating form. Some references to proper nouns come across as either misplaced or forced, and the set could do with fewer strained fairground-rock choruses. These shortcomings are nonetheless too rare and slight to prevent The Autobiography from being a remarkable first album from an artist who can "scream 'Fuck the police'" and shout-out Weezer with equal instinctive command. ~ Andy Kellman