Vic Mensa has shared his cautionary take on the tragic death of Juice WRLD.
Speaking with someone from TMZ earlier this week, the 93PUNX frontman was asked about Lil Pump's decision to cut his song "Drug Addicts" from his Rolling Loud set out of respect for Juice WRLD. Mensa agreed with the move, prompting an extended message about what he considers to be artists' responsibility to their audiences.
"I think that, as members of the hip-hop community, we need to take responsibility for the things that we say," he said. "We need to recognize that the shit we talk about influences children. So when we are steady pushing a message of lean and Percocets and Xans, we are polluting the minds of the youth. We have a responsibility to give it to them in a real way. Not to say that you can't talk about your real life and the things that are happening but I think that we need to start holding each other and ourselves accountable for our glorification of the drug culture, 100 percent. That's just what it is. Anything else, that's parasitic to our people to just act like this is the shit to be on lean all the time."
Mensa added that he didn't always feel this way, even about his own music, but he now feels "you gotta be careful about what you say" because younger audiences look to artists for their personal gospel.
"And when we see these things happening to the young brothers, like rest in peace, Juice. Too early, 21. And rap is much to blame for it."
Mensa also spoke candidly about his own experiences with addiction. See the full video up top.
On Friday, Mensa responded to the coverage surrounding his comments, noting the importance of reading beyond the headlines:
