Vic Mensa sure knows how to put on a show, but his appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! is more than just a regular talk show performance. Committed to carrying the message of the song he's performing, Vic chose to perform "16 Shots," his powerful tribute to Laquan McDonald, the seventeen-year-old who was fatally shot by a police officer in Chicago in 2014. Backed by performers dressed in riot gear, Vic is continually suppressed but breaks free each time.
It's a passionate and vivid performance that emphasizes the subject matter of the track brilliantly, and the impact is only increased by him performing the opening of the song without a beat. Before the song ends, he cuts off the music to deliver an important message about police brutality and today's elections. "I gotta say something," he opens. "I'm a young black man from Chicago, and I'm tired of not being able to trust the police. I want to have faith in the men and women sworn to protect me. I don't wanna see another 17-year-old kid like Laquan McDonald murdered in the street."
He continues, "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. Donald Trump is a racist, and if you don't vote, racism wins."
Watch the powerful performance above.
