Alongside Chance the Rapper, Vic Mensa was one of the early gifts from Chicago’s SAVEMONEY crew — another lithe-tongued MC with a knack for sing-song and a colorful imagination. His free Innanetape set built on the promise of fizzy early shares like “Orange Soda” and now the man is tying off a year well-lived with a nice little bow: a freestyle set to Disclosure’s “When a Fire Starts to Burn.” The opening seconds alone make it a win — that expert sampling of Dave Chappelle’s spoof of MTV’s Da Band drop-out Dylan Dylinjah — but Mensa’s rapid-fire, pop-culture-checking rhymes offer even more delight, especially the bit when he borrows Azealia Banks’ high-energy “212” cadence.
