On Friday, Mar. 16, GRAMMY-nominated Chicago rapper Vic Mensa will open the digital doors of his new non-profit endeavor: SaveMoneySaveLife, a charity foundation aimed at promoting mental health and environmental justice.
At launch, the foundation will comprise two main program pillars: StreetMedics and UniVerse. StreetMedics is a program that will help train first responders working in Chicago's most dangerous neighborhoods, as well as help provide better access to mental health professionals by placing them as resources in the city's most at-risk schools. UniVerse meanwhile, focuses on providing better education for indigenous and black youth by means of a summer mentorship program.
Mensa tell Billboard in his latest interview that StreetMedics was inspired partly by first-responder activist groups he witnessed working to provide immediate medical attention to casualties in the Gaza strip, adding that the mental health initiative he plans to jointly provide also stems from his own experiences dealing the trauma of witnessing Chicago violence at a young age. He goes on to explain the origins of UniVerse stem from conversation he had with Laundi Keepseagle during the Standing Rock protests. Mensa says Keepseagle is now also the director of his new foundation.
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Activism and working to address the systemic issues caused by society's unequal power structures has long been an integral theme of both Mensa's creative and personal life. In his song "We Could Be Free," feat. Ty Dolla $ign, Mensa rap/sings, "We could be free/ if we only knew we were slaves to the pains of each other/ one thing I believe, if I could learn/ to see my enemy as my brother." The music video sees Mensa meditating on our potential to create a better world for everyone, as the imagery details the echoing damages caused by police clashing with a group of protesters.
In his own life, Mensa has remained active in protesting police brutality in his hometown of Chicago, while also working to help draw attention to the water crisis in Flint, Mich., and the humanitarian struggles at Standing Rock, N.D.
"I've been politically minded and socially conscious for a long time," Mensa explains. "But more so recently, I've started to realize that this life is about service. It's not just about personal gain. Service is key. And as I have more on my plate, and I have more ambitions and more goals and things I want for myself, I'm realizing more and more how important it is to be a servant."
To commemorate the launch of the SaveMoneySaveLife foundation, Mensa plans to host a fundraising gala at Chicago's Licoln Hall on Friday, Mar. 16. Chicago native Jamila Woods and Mensa himself will both perform at the event, along with additional special guests.
