Raised on the South Side of Chicago, Vic rose to public awareness as a member of the eclectic hip-hop band Kids These Days and founder of the Chicago collective SAVEMONEY alongside Chance The Rapper and other local upstarts Joey Purp and Peter CottonTale. His solo debut mixtape INNANETAPE dropped in 2013, igniting immediate accolades (including a spot on the XXL Freshman cover in 2014), and a fortuitous introduction to Jay Z that led to a record deal with Roc Nation. Mensa went on to help Kanye West pen his esoteric song “Wolves” from The Life of Pablo, drop three critically acclaimed EPs (2016’s There’s A Lot Going On, 2018’s Hooligans, and 2020’s V TAPE) and his debut full length The Autobiography (2017), as well as furthering social causes in his hometown through his nonprofit SAVEMONEYSAVELIFE. In both music and his social activism, Vic challenges the American system responsible for a history of overcriminalization, racial injustice, and issues that affect the lives of people in underserved communities, while showcasing profound levels of consciousness and self-reflection.

Snuffy has been playing music together since 2005. Members Ben Cohen (guitar), David Gregory (keyboards), & Stephen Toriello (drums) started out by performing in their high school's jazz band.

Ben and David played for a short while in a band named Mad Cow. When Mad Cow disbanded, Ben and David formed Snuffy and asked their schoolmate Stephen to join. Their first show was in December 2005 at Liberty Heights Tavern in Red Hook, Brooklyn playing with early incarnations of the bands Banzai and Fiasco. After playing a handful of shows, Snuffy went on hiatus while David moved to Philadelphia for his freshman year in college.

David moved back to NYC and the band started playing together again the following summer. Their first show back was in October 2007 at (what was) Southpaw in Park Slope, Brooklyn. For the next year, the band continued writing material while Ben went to college in Boston.

In January 2009, Snuffy started work on their debut album. Their albums first single was released on Sound Cloud later that year. Ben moved back to the city to work in post production and recording studios while David started working as a live sound engineer. Stephen temporarily went to study abroad in India pursuing a degree in Tibetan Studies while Ben and David completed their debut album. 

The band released their album in September 2011 soon after Stephen returned home. After several shows, the band went on another significant hiatus while Stephen revisited the far east. The band now plans to reunite to play shows in the near future as well as a release a sophomore full length soon after. Thank for listening!


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