Vic Mensa remembers Fredo Santana and addresses wider systematic issues in new post
“We have to diagnose the system, not the symptoms”
Vic Mensa wrote a thoughtful Instagram post Saturday simultaneously remembering Chicago rapper Fredo Santana's life, while also taking the time to explore how systematic racism, community disenfranchisement and ensuing violence in Chicago may have contributed to Santana's untimely and early death.
Santana died from a fatal seizure Friday evening, according to early reports from TMZ. He was 27 years old. A public statement on his death from his team and family has not yet been released.
While taking time to remember Santana's accomplishments and growth in just the past few years, Mensa, a fellow Chicago rapper, writes that "[Santana] spoke about his drug use and trying to escape the PTSD he had from growing up in the hood, surrounded by violence." Calling it "post traumatic streets disorder," Mensa urgently writes that we "need to evaluate the conditions in our communities that raise young black men with more psychological issues than they can ever really unpack." He ends by powerfully stating "we have to diagnose the system, not the symptoms."
Mensa joins a growing number of rappers and artists memorializing Santana's life and contributions on social media. Mensa's full Instagram caption is pasted below:
Rest In Peace to a real chicago legend. it’s tragic that he’s gone before he really got to blossom into the man he could be. kicking it with him about a year ago I could really tell that his mentality had grown and he was far more progressive than the world really knew. Fredo was the spirit of the drill movement, & the chicago streets he embodied. Near the end of his life he made some statements that I think we all can REALLY LISTEN to and learn from. He spoke about his drug use and trying to escape the PTSD he had from growing up in the hood, surrounded by violence. I call it post traumatic streets disorder. we need to evaluate the conditions in our communities that raise young black men with more psychological issues than they can ever really unpack. we have to diagnose the system, not the symptoms. rest up to a real rockstar. 27