vic mensa jay z

Our friends at FakeShoreDrive caught wind of the rumors early, and now Roc Nation has confirmed their latest scoop. Joining fellow Chicago native and “U Mad” collaborator Kanye West on the roster, Vic Mensa is officially the newest member of the Roc. Congrats to the kid!

Miss Info: So what’s interesting to me is the backstory of…umm..effort and frankly, emotional roller coastering, that went on before this signing. Roc Nation exec Lenny S. reveals the early interactions he had with Vic. And I’m curious to hear how you would have handled the same situation. I might not have had the same saintlike patience ; ) Read it and hit us on Twitter @MissInfo @MissInfoTV with your reaction….

The Vic Mensa x Roc Nation story, after the jump…

Lenny S. writes:

A while back, I caught wind of an artist from Chicago who I thought had undeniable talent + lots of potential. I had @spanish_ran get in contact with @codykazarian who was a part of the mgmt team. I flew to Chi to go see this kid perform.
As a music exec, I’m excited about traveling to the Chi to meet this guy for the 1st time. Coming from Roc, I assumed he’d be ecstatic. I assumed wrong. He barely gives me a head nod after Cody intros us. Now the show’s over, every1 is gone & still nothin’. As I’m leaving, he stops me + says “yo, thanks for coming homie, where u from again?” I’d be lying to say I wasn’t slightly offended. Ha. I sarcastically answered “just a lil rec company named ROC NATION”. He replies, “oh, who y’all got there?” If u know me & my ROC pride, I’m offended again. Me: “Not sure if you’ve heard of them, a few small artists like, JZ, JCole & Rihanna”. He says, oh cool + keeps it moving. All Good…
Fast fwd a few months. Cody keeps me updated on everything they’re doing + without question, I show up. Chi, ATL, Detroit, LA, NY etc. Finally, I meet Dan, the 2nd half of mgmt team while they’re in NY filming Wildn’ Out. Dan doesn’t even give me eye contact during our intro. At this point I’m tight.. Who the fuck r these guys?! Who do they think they r ?! Fuck that! Do they not know who I am & the company I rep?! WTF!
Days later I convince myself to put my stubbornness/pride aside & reach out. Fuck it, this dude is too dope. Why should I lose out just cause it seems like they’re not impressed w/ Lenny S or Roc.
I hit Cody..He tells me Vic wanted to holla at me. We kick it for months. They tell me nothin can move if I’m not good w/Dan. I sat w/ all of em in LA & I told them every reason y ROC was perfect for em. They didn’t care about the hype, $, offers etc. They cared about making a connection w/ music/culture & partnering with a company who understood their vision/art. Same thing Roc believes in. We shook on it. Last piece of the puzzle: Meet w/ Chaka & J. My 20m meeting lasted 3hrs. We talked bout art/icons/rock/HipHop etc & decided our new business partners were SAVEMONEY! 1 of my most proud signings! VIC MENSA!!

Do you feel like Vic Mensa was rejecting the shady music business smoke and mirrors when he paid Lenny little mind in the beginning? Or do you think he was just being ill-mannered and making him jump through hoops? In the end, perhaps he wanted to see proof of commitment? It’s an interesting way of setting the tone with a brand that is clearly on the more high profile, glittery side of the game. Or maybe it’s just obnoxious, lol. Hit us on twitter @MissInfo with your thoughts.

Those with a TIDAL subscription can watch Vic’s signing here.

Related: New Music: Vic Mensa Feat. Kanye West “U Mad”