Last night, on the eve of the most potentially disastrous public vote in recent memory (or at least since Brexit), Vic Mensa had a message for the world. Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live to promote his EP There's Alot Going On, released earlier this year, Mensa delivered a blistering version of the track "16 Shots", which addresses institutional racism in the US.
Part performance art, part public service announcement, the performance saw Mensa flanked and dragged around the stage by faceless figures dressed as riot police – a clear reference to this year's many prominent Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality – before stopping the music to speak eloquently on policy and why every vote against Trump matters.
In his words: "I'm a young black man from Chicago and I'm tired of not being able to trust the police. I want to have faith in the men and women sworn to protect me. I don't want to see another 17 year old kid like Laquan McDonald murdered in the street. So when I hear a candidate talking about 'law and order', and 'stop and frisk' as the answer to our problems – you don't know our problems in Chicago, and you damn sure don't speak for us. Tomorrow we have the biggest election of our lifetime, so you gotta get out and vote against hate. Because Donald Trump is a racist, and if you don't vote, racism wins."
Watch the full performance below:
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