Watch Vic Mensa Battle Demons in Grisly ‘Dark Things’ Video

Vic Mensa delves into the darkest corners of his mind on his new song, “Dark Things.” The track will appear on the rapper’s forthcoming EP, Hooligans, which is set to arrive December 14th. “Dark Things” finds Mensa spitting a torrent of brutally honest bars about love, addiction, death and depression over thumping drums and ominous synths. “This is absinthe not Heineken,” Mensa belts, “25, running out of time again/ 27 club how can I get in?”

The song arrives with an equally gritty video directed by Bobby Hanaford. The clip is set in a fog-filled forest and finds Mensa spitting the cut while a group of women pin him down to perform a gruesome Satanic ritual.

Mensa spoke about his creative vision for “Dark Things” while filling in as host on Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 radio show. “[It’s] something that I wanted to make to represent those dark edges and recesses of my mind,” he said of the single. He added that Hooligans also showcases “different energies,” including tracks with “more fun summertime energy.”

The rapper also played and discussed some of his favorite songs — including Echo and the Bunnymen’s “The Killing Moon,” Tupac’s “Me Against the World” and Rage Against the Machine’s “People of the Sun” — during the radio spot. “I think this record is especially relevant right now,” he said of “People of the Sun.” “Because he comes in and talking about Maya Mexica. And, with everything going on, all the anti-immigrant sentiment and all the fear-mongering, it’s important to remember the words that Zack De la Rocha put in this song.”

Hooligans follows Mensa’s two 2017 releases, his long-awaited debut album The Autobiography and his EP The Manuscript. The new project will feature a variety of collaborations, including tracks with Ty Dolla $ign, Lil Herb, Charlie Wilson, G-Eazy, and the Neighbourhood’s Jesse Rutherford.