Vic Mensa launched “The Vic Mensa Show” with a guest who knows him better than most: longtime friend and fellow Chicago rapper Chance the Rapper.
The two artists used the premiere to revisit a friendship that began when they were teenagers and eventually became part of the foundation for Save Money, the Chicago collective that helped shape a generation of independent hip-hop.
Mensa recalled first meeting Chance at Jones College Prep during an open mic. At the time, Mensa was a student at Whitney Young Magnet High School and had traveled to Jones College Prep to perform.
He later spotted Chance in the school’s lunchroom. Mensa acknowledged that his microphone skills had not yet caught up with his ambitions, but the encounter became the beginning of a relationship that would last for decades.
The pair eventually began recording together, with Mensa remembering one of their earliest sessions for a song called “Lord Release.” His father paid for the studio time.
But their friendship was tested long before either rapper became a major name.
Mensa said older students had threatened Chance at school. His response, according to his recollection, was to bring roughly 25 people from Whitney Young to confront them.
The confrontation turned physical.
Mensa had previously summarized the incident during an appearance on “All the Smoke,” saying, “Long story short, you know, found them, beat they ass, for fucking with Chance.”
The story offers a glimpse into just how far back the connection between the two rappers goes. Their friendship eventually became intertwined with Chicago’s independent rap movement and the formation of Save Money.
Chance later referenced the bond on his 2013 mixtape Acid Rap. On “Acid Rain,” he highlighted the loyalty and competitive spirit between the two artists, rapping, “But if you touch my brother,” before describing how quickly his anti-violence stance could disappear.
That history gives Chance’s appearance on “The Vic Mensa Show” added significance. This wasn’t simply another artist interview—it was a conversation between two rappers whose careers and creative journeys have been connected since adolescence.
The new show also represents another chapter for Mensa as a host and interviewer. The 24-episode series expands on his Orange Tree video series, which he said taught him the power of conversation.
Mensa described that potential through “radical ideas, humor, honesty and vulnerability.”
Starting the series with Chance put that philosophy into action while bringing one of Chicago hip-hop’s longest-running friendships back into the spotlight.
