Vic Mensa

Mensa counts everyone from Jay Z, to Nirvana to Gorillaz as influences. He grew up in Chicago, started laying down hip-hop tracks during his teens, and fronted the acclaimed indie outfit Kids These Days before pursuing a solo career and dropping his Inanetape mixtape in 2013.

More recently, Mensa’s collaborated on tracks with Chance The Rapper, Kanye West, and Skrillex, and signed to Jay Z’s Roc Nation label, which is slated to release his forthcoming debut, Traffic.

For CAA’s Cara Lewis, who represents the 22-year-old rapper, those achievements are all just indicators of greater things to come.

Lewis told Pollstar she realized Mensa had something special while first watching him perform.

“The way that he commanded the audience, he had them all by the palm of his hand within moments of stepping on to that stage – the mark of a true superstar,” she said.

Mensa’s already spent some time on the road in support of J. Cole, Danny Brown and Disclosure, in addition to filling plenty of festival slots.

Upcoming gigs include 20 club plays in major cities across the country scheduled around the festivals he’s booked such as Pitchfork, Mad Decent, and Freaky Deaky.

No matter what, fans should expect a hell of a show.

“Vic is the ultimate stage performer,” Lewis said. “He knows that the audience is there for a real experience and he’s determined to deliver one. Vic is an artist that has the capacity to work across genres. He has the potential to work with anyone from EDM, hip-hop, and rap, and that is something that truly sets him apart from his peers.”