Claiming that he’s “been waiting” on his opportunity to drop a Funkmaster Flex freestyle, Vic Mensa delivered a 5-minute bar fest on the Hot 97 host’s landmark program.
Over the Swizz Beatz instrumental for N.O.R.E.’s classic posse cut “Banned from TV,” the Chicago rapper opened up about advice he’s received from his Roc Nation boss JAY-Z.
“Hov told me, ‘Vic, keep a foot on they neck’ / We in Barclays, balling like the Brooklyn Nets,” he raps. “I should have my own Mitchell & Ness / You’re remissive, I’m cancer in stage 4, I’m as sick as it gets.”
After shouting out his newly-reconciled friend Chance the Rapper, Mensa goes on to deliver Nas-inspired rhymes about Mumia Abu-Jamal, Aaliyah, and MC Shan. “If I could rule the world, I’d free them all,” he raps. “Mumia Jamal / Aaliyah’s flight wouldn’t have took that fall / Colin Kaepernick would still play ball / They treat ni**as like MC Shan and keep us ‘Down By Law.'”
As if that wasn’t enough, Mensa also makes it a point to shout out Tupac Shakur, who Flex has made controversial comments about. “I know Flex don’t really rock with ‘Pac,” he raps. “But I’m still screaming Makavelli ’till the coffin drops.”
Later in the freestyle, Mensa says he’s “old school” like famed Harlem drug dealer Albert “Alpo” Martinez and former Czar Entertainment CEO James “Jimmy Henchman” Rosemond, who is currently serving life in prison and who has reportedly confessed to planning the infamous 1994 Tupac Shakur shooting at New York’s Quad Recording Studios.