If you push play on Vic Mensa‘s new song “Swish” above expecting to hear a redux of his and Chance The Rapper‘s 2021 reunion “Shelter,” you’re going to be sorely disappointed. While the first two names involved, Vic and Chance, might suggest a thoughtful or contemplative vibe, “Swish” seems to be taken from the oeuvre of their third collaborator, G-Eazy.
It’s actually a frantic club song, over which Chance, Vic, and Gerald rap praise to the twerkers while boasting the trappings of their wealth, from name-checking Rick Owens, The Ramones, and Al Capone to comparing their fists to Thanos — because they have too many stones, you see.
Honestly, if Chance and Vic are entering their party-boy era as both approach 30, you kind of have to give it to them. They spent their early 20s as the avatars of poetic, introspective rap, then got shunted into two lanes that wound up disappointing some of their earliest fans; Vic went through both a punk-rock phase and became the latest flag-bearer for so-called “conscious” rap, while Chance became known as the wife guy, whether fairly or not.
We know from the social media kerfuffle earlier this week that Chance likes to let it all hang loose once in a while, and frankly, it’s nice to see them shed their buttoned-up, super-serious professional presentation for at least a little bit. Check out “Swish” above and stay tuned.