Video: Vic Mensa feat. Ty Dolla $ign - 'We Could Be Free'
On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Vic Mensa delivers a thought-provoking and socially-charged video for “We Could Be Free,” a Ty Dolla $ign-assisted collaboration off his debut album The Autobiography.
The visual begins with the image of a baby inside of his mother’s stomach, but that peaceful and joyous image is quickly disrupted by a police officer, who strikes the woman to the ground with a forceful blow in the midst of a protest. Powerful images follow, including a white police officer shooting an unarmed black man from the back.
Mensa visited Beats 1 to discuss the visual, which is currently exclusive to Apple Music. “There’s a lot of division based on a lot of fear and I wanted to present an alternative that was without fear. That’s what the song represents,” he said, before explaining the imagery.
.@VicMensa#WeCouldBeFree
Watch the exclusive music video and interview with @zanelowe on Apple Music. #MLKDayhttps://t.co/WG3N9lzpTK pic.twitter.com/kAj35G4rx3— Apple Music (@AppleMusic) January 15, 2018
“At the beginning, you have this infant in the womb, a safe space, you would think, but you’re hearing the turmoil outside,” he added. “You have all these different scenes distorted around me of turmoil in the world.” Those disturbing scenes are juxtaposed with a peaceful Mensa, standing beside human beings from all walks of life.
“One day, I believe I’d learn / To see my enemy as my brother,” he sings. “Then we could be free, truly / And love could wash away our sorrows / I’m not afraid to bleed / If it means we’ll make a better today, not tomorrow.”