Vic Mensa Confronts XXXTentacion Controversy on New Song 'Empathy'

Following the backlash over his BET cypher, Vic Mensa is asking for “Empathy.”

The Chicago rapper has released a new song in response to the controversial comments he made about XXXTentacion and his abusive past. During his BET Hip-Hop Awards cypher, Mensa referenced the late rapper while his grieving mother was in the audience.

“Only time you bear arms is in a wifebeater, loser / Your favorite rapper’s a domestic abuser,” rapped Mensa. “I don’t respect ni**as posthumously / Homicide ain’t new to me.”

On “Empathy,” Vic speaks out about the diss. “I’m a magnet for hella bad energies,” he raps. “Got a tendency to make a lot of enemies / I’m an asshole when I get off the Hennessy / Probably only do it ’cause somebody did that shit to me.”

He also confronts his own abusive past involving the choking of his ex-girlfriend, which he admitted to on his song “There’s A Lot Going On.” “I got so down on my luck, I made it a dance song / Reflected that on the women I loved and left / Got a call from my ex, she forgive, but she can’t forget.”

He goes on to admit fault. “As a man, we don’t understand the damages we’ve sown / Just by stringing her along / And everybody heard the song / I fucked up / Admit that I fucked up / But I ain’t do that though, so I wanna judge but I sound like an asshole / Holdin’ my nuts up / We love to point the finger at everybody but us.”

Prior to releasing “Empathy,” Mensa had defended his comments about domestic abusers in the hip-hop community. “I vehemently reject the trend in hip-hop of championing abusers and I will not hold my tongue about it,” he said. “I don’t give a fuck about getting attention. I care about bringing awareness and holding people accountable for their actions.”