In their video for “Camp America”, Vic Mensa and his 93PUNX band took a strong stand against ICE detention centers. Now, the Chicago rapper is taking his activism on the road by staging a “Fuck I.C.E.” protest concert at ICE’s Los Angeles headquarters on Monday, September 1st.
“@93punx guerrilla performance at I.C.E. headquarters in LA monday 4pm meet me there,” Mensa wrote on Instagram on Thursday. The attached flyer (seen below) says, “Fuck ICE! for da Kids”, and features a banner that reads, “Rock for Children’s Rights”.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1xfZmbFZjO/
Mensa has long been an outspoken activist both in his music and on the streets. The Autobiography rapper previously protested against police brutality and advocated for racial equality. He recently signed a Planned Parenthood letter protesting the recent surge of anti-abortion laws.
(Read: The Top 25 Albums of 2019… So Far)
However, Donald Trump’s “family separation policy” and ICE centers have been Mensa’s main focus as of late. His “Camp America” visual reimagined detention centers as actual summer camps filled specifically with white (dabbing) children.
“I thought that was a crazy fucking idea and wanted to create a world with this song that imagined that twisted alternate reality, where it was fun for kids to be held as prisoners, drinking out of toilets, away from their parents, and somehow enjoy it like one might at a summer camp,” Mensa told The Daily Beast, adding:
“My intention for using white kids as opposed to minority children is to point out the blatantly obvious fact that this would never happen to white kids in this country or maybe anywhere on this earth. Although the nature of the actions the kids were involved in was graphic or shocking, it was all taken from actual occurrences reported at ‘detention’ centers.”
In an interview with Consequence of Sound last year, Mensa said speaking up on behalf of his community is an “inspirational necessity” and one of the main reasons why he creates music in the first place. “To connect with people that I know best, to tell their story,” he shared.
“Camp America” appears on 93PUNX’s self-titled debut album, which hit shelves just last week. Mensa has other non-protest concert dates coming up next month, and tickets can be purchased here.
Revisit “Camp America” below.
