The Sample in Vic Mensa's 'Let U Know'

The Sample in Vic Mensa's 'Let U Know'

An American flag slowly turns upside down for the announcement of Vic Mensa’s new track, “Let U Know.” The national anthem gets cut off. No hand over heart, but a big middle finger to all of Vic’s naysayers, celebrating his success featuring singer Jesse Rutherford – and a Tracklib sample.

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Tracklib

·

August 5, 2019

“Tracklib is like digging for samples digitally, a whole new experience,” Vic Mensa said before. His self-produced track “Let U Know” is the first release in which he integrates a Tracklib sample: “New Day” by Band of Thieves, which was only $50 to officially clear. Near the end of the track, the backing vocals of the 1976 soul track suddenly kick in, adding a moment of contrast to “Let U Know.”

"When we were making the song Mike Dean had just introduced me to Tracklib," tells Vic Mensa. "So we searched for samples in the same key we were working in and found HEAT. Tracklib is so ill because it’s like digging for dusty records, 45s & deep cuts."

"Tracklib is so ill because it’s like digging for dusty records, 45s & deep cuts"

—Vic Mensa

Vic Mensa loves to disrupt. No wonder he’s been called “Kanye West’s punk protege” before. The visual for “Let U Know” is just one of the many examples. Or take last week’s video for “3 Years Sober”, in which he dresses up like a woman in a confederate flag dress to make a statement about identity. “I know some in hip hop culture will see this and say ‘Vic’s gay' (which I’m not), whereas if I was white they’d just say 'he’s a rockstar’”, says Vic.

Even his upcoming US tour together with Jesse deranges the idea of tours: dubbed the Heads & Tails tour, in every city they flip a coin to determine the show’s headliner. Whoever the headliner will be, the odds are high that “Let U Know” is going to be part of the setlist...

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