How Vic Mensa Honoured Uncle, Fela Kuti Through The Black Star Line Festival

Photo: Vic Mensa/Instagram 

By Kinyua Mwangi

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Chicago-based Ghanaian rapper Vic Mensa is grateful that his Black Star Line Festival held in Accra on January 6 helped him honour his uncle Chief Kofi Sammy who inspired him to do music. 

Chief Kofi is now in his 80s and back in his active adult life, he was a music head who spent great moments with the legendary Fela Kuti. The legacy of the two legends inspired Vic to pursue music and life hasn’t been the same again. 

Looking back at the festival, Vic is glad that over 50,000 people attended the drive to celebrate the black music culture. For him, it was the celebration he always wanted for his uncle.

“I want to highlight this moment as the crowning achievement for me. My uncle is a pioneer in Ghanaian music history named Chief Kofi Sammy, he is now in his 80s. If you talk to him today he will never hesitate to remind you where I got the music from, and that his talent has been reborn in me,” he posted on Instagram. 

Vic took up his uncle’s and Fela’s outspoken nature which shaped who he is. The late Nigerian Afrobeats legend frequently visited Chief Kofi’s home back in the day as a result of his bad blood with the Nigerian government. 

It is in Kofi’s homestead that he would rest until things calmed down in Nigeria and in the process, they would talk at length about music. One thing Vic never forgets about his uncle’s advice is to tread carefully because the game is never fair enough. Through his many guidance talks, Vic has made a name for himself and when he looks back, Chief Kofi’s name is all over it. Thus, the Black Star Line Festival is such a great platform to honour him.