Vic Mensa – Hooligans (EP Review)

Vic Mensa has been engulfed in all kinds of beefs these last couple of months, distracting the people from his ability to make some pretty solid music. With the release of Hooligans, perhaps he can get people to pay attention to what he does best once again.

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TOP 3

3. ROWDY

“Rowdy” is an explosive banger that features a pretty crazy hook, vicious trap instrumental, and lots of fighting words from both G-Herbo and Vic Mensa. I f**k with the energy that powers the track, especially for these two particular Chicago rappers, mainly because they come across as deranged in their raps most of the time anyway. Anyway, the song will do a good job of either hyping you up or encouraging you to take your anger out on someone, therefore, I chose to listen to it on my way to work today ?.

Why is Vic Mensa always trying to fight someone?

2. DANCING IN THE STREETS

When you give Vic Mensa a chance to get rebellious, I think he’s a special artist. “Dancing In The Streets” presents that opportunity to him, as it boasts this instrumental that is both passionate and grungy. Vic matches the energy of it every step of the way, dropping off this exhilarating hook and delivering some of his most inspired bars to-date. He also gives featured guest Jesse a chance to do some crooning at the end, which ultimately turns the vicious tune into this soulful gem.

1. IN SOME TROUBLE

“In Some Trouble” is an absolute banger! It blurs the line between hip hop and R&B fantastically, and features some phenomenal chemistry between both Vic and featured guest Ty Dolla $ign. I also think the song does a great job of drawing listeners in through some pretty good melodies and feel-good vibes, ultimately giving off this timeless feel.

SONG BY SONG BREAKDOWN

1. DANCING IN THE STREETZ (4/5)

2. DARK THINGS (3.5/5)

3. IN SOME TROUBLE (5/5)

4. ROWDY (4/5)

5. REVERSE (3.5/5)

6. KLONPIN (3/5)

7. THE 1 THAT GOT AWAY/NO SHOES (4/5)

8. DESERVE IT (3.5/5)

OVERALL RATING

(C+)

“Hooligans EP” isn’t bad, but I also didn’t feel satisfied listening to it… In my opinion, it is very inconsistent: In one sense, you get some very solid contributions from Vic Mensa on it in which he spits some serious bars and croons as well as any one of your favorite rapper-turnt-singers. On the flip-side, he also falls prey to the sounds of today, ultimately coming across like bootleg versions of your favorite artists. I said it before, and I’ll say it again: Listeners can tell when music is authentic, and too many times Vic sounds like he’s trying to be someone else. Nonetheless, the subject-matters on this album were deep (Especially when it comes to the mental-health side of things), the versatility Vic showed throughout was phenomenal, and as a whole, I think the music you hear is pretty high in quality. Even with that being said, something was missing on the EP, and I just don’t know what it is at this very moment…