Vic Mensa’s Foundation Might Lose Office Space Over Landlord’s “Camp America” Criticism
Written by SOURCE on July 24, 2019
Vic Mensa has made a point to use his platform to help the disenfranchised. This led him to start the Save Money, Save Life Foundation.
The nonprofit’s executive director Laundi Keepseagle told Block Club Chicago that the Save Money, Save Life Foundation was told to terminate the lease they have on their office space because their landlord was “appalled” by Mensa’s latest video. According to Keepseagle, she and members of the organization were picking up the keys when the owner, Jim Mason, said he was “absolutely disgusted” by Vic Mensa’s “Camp America” video.
“Camp America” is a track Mensa created with his side project 93PUNX. The song is an artistic critique of ICE detention centers. To illustrate the inhumane conditions, 93PUNX decided to replace immigrant children with their white counterparts. The landlord claimed Mensa’s video was “discriminatory” against white people. This led to an argument during which Keepseagle tried to explain that the video was meant to create empathy for the children held in these centers. Despite the explanation, Keepseagle alleged that Mason tried to force her into voiding their lease and when she refused he told her “everything will be difficult for you here on out.”
Vic Mensa’s Save Money, Save Life Foundation hosts several programs that foster art on the West and South sides of the city. Upon hearing that his organization could be jeopardized by Mason, Mensa took to Twitter to bring attention to the incident.
