Album Review by Bradley Christensen
Vic Mensa – There’s A Lot Going On
Record Label: Roc Nation
Release Date: June 3 2016
My last review was a very glowing re-review of Chance The Rapper’s latest mixtape, 2016’s Coloring Book, and while I was revisiting that, I thought I’d spend some time with a couple of projects from Chance’s friends and family. One of those records was 2016’s There’s A Lot Going On, which is label debut of fellow rapper Vic Mensa. I’ve talked about Mensa before, back when I covered his debut mixtape, 2013’s Innanetape, and for the record, I loved that mixtape. I thought it was great. It showed a lot of potential from him, and I was excited for whatever he would put out next. I listened to his former group, Kids These Days, and I thought they were wonderful, too, but I never properly got into them. I need to do that one of these days, though. Anyway, Mensa released a few singles throughout the last few years, but in the summer of 2016, he finally released his label debut project. Only a seven-track EP, but it’s the length of an album, There’s A Lot Going On, is a project that I didn’t really get into when I first listened to it. It was the same deal as Coloring Book, but I didn’t dislike it. I just had a lot of stuff on my plate at the time, so I was forced to put it on the backburner. Going back to it now, however, I really enjoy this record, but it’s also not something I expected from Mensa. This LP isn’t as lighthearted, energetic, or off-kilter as Innanetape, but it’s just as hard-hitting, if not more. That’s mainly for its lyrics, though, and that’s the thing that caught me off guard the most. Its lyrics are very politically charged, but in all the right ways. You’ll hear lyrics about Black Lives Matter, the water crisis in Michigan, and a lot of other things that are happening in the world today. The lyrics are the best part of this record, if not one of the best parts.
The one thing I did expect was how good Mensa is as a rapper, and he really steps up his bars here. He’s very potent, hard-hitting, and intense, but he can laidback, lighthearted, and a bit weird, too. His bars definitely reflect the emotion that he’s trying to convey. There are also a couple of smooth, crisp, and laidback R&B-influenced cuts. One of those features Ty Dolla $ign, who’s the go-to hook guy now, but that’s a good song. There are a couple of songs like that, and while they’re very good, they do bring to light the one major issue I have with this project – it’s very unfocused. Its sound and tone in particular are very unfocused, because the album doesn’t know what kind of tone it wants. For the most part, the record is very hard-hitting “conscious / political hip-hop,” but those couple of R&B songs throw things off a bit. It’s not too bad, because it’s only around 32 minutes long, but each song is around 5 minutes (if not more). Some songs drag a bit, admittedly, and it makes for a bit of a lengthier listen than other albums that are shorter. Seven tracks isn’t a lot, but with 32 minutes, the songs themselves can be a tad lengthy. The album’s good, though, and everything is good by default. Mensa’s bars are strong, the lyrics are very good, and the sound is great, but it’s a bit too unfocused for my tastes, and some of the songs drag too long for my liking. I enjoy There’s A Lot Going On, well, a lot, no matter what, because it’s a solid record. It’s a record that a lot of people should listen to, especially hip-hop fans. There are a lot of very topical and well-explained ideas and themes running through this record.
I wish I could get into more, but its lack of focus doesn’t make me want to revisit it that much. Its content can also be a bit too exhausting for people, even though it’s worth listening to. There aren’t any catchy hooks or melodies on this album, minus the smoother R&B tracks, which does make the album a bit more exhausting to listen to, but it’s not horrible. I can’t see any mainstream hip-hop fans being into this, and only that stuff, but if you enjoy more political, conscious, or hard-hitting stuff, you’ll like this. I enjoy a lot of different artists, no matter the style, just as long as they’re good, and this is a good record. I was already a fan of Mensa’s before this dropped, because I enjoyed him a lot on Chance The Rapper’s Acid Rap. I wanted to see if he had any solo work out, and that was the only thing I could find, but it was great, either way. This record is good, too, especially for a label debut. Sadly, though, Mensa’s very underrated as an MC, because he didn’t quite get the same push that Chance The Rapper did, and I kind of get why. He’s not as weird, off-kilter, and as eccentric, but he’s still good. This record showcases that quite well, even if it’s quite unfocused at times. I’m hoping that a full-length project, or even a mixtape, will be more focused in its sound and length, but for what we got here, I enjoy it quite a lot. I don’t know if I love this, but I do like it a lot. There’s a lot of stuff that’s very good on this record. The lyrics are particular stand out a lot. I will say this, though – if you’re not into hip-hop, and you’re the kind of person that only doesn’t like it, because its lyrics are very vapid and arrogant (which is true, but it’s not as rampant as people would like to believe, as a lot of very unique, talented, and diverse MCs exist), listen to this record. It’ll show you that hip-hop is capable of a lot more. Even then, this record is still worth listening to, because it’s really good.
