Vic Mensa’s Chicago is one sliding along a razor’s edge. The city’s gun and gang violence there have been well recorded, as statistic after statistic paints the Chi in a bloodied t-shirt. Indie artists Noname and Jamila Woods tackled the specter of young black death on their respective masterstrokes, Telefone and Heavn. Not to mention, everyone from Kanye West to Common has weighed in with strong words about the tragic circumstances of Chicago’s murder rate. But because the world is a particularly dangerous place for black folks in America, the issue of state-sponsored violence looms large. This is why Vic Mensa has taken up the topic of Laquan McDonald’s death at the hands of police officers on October 10, 2014.

“16 Shots” takes a devastating approach to the events, recreating dash cam footage of the fatal shooting. “16 Shots” is off his socially conscious There’s Alot Going On. In the video, Mensa walks through an empty stretch of an industrial park, where he’s met with three officers. An altercation ensues, which steadily escalates from a rain of blows, to a tasing to a murder. The last parts of the video seemingly recreate the shooting of Laquan McDonald, seen walking away from police officers on dashcam before he was gunned down in a hail of 16 bullets.

Vic is no stranger to political commentary, but this video is one step further for Mensa, who is, along with the rest of us, tired of vulnerable black people getting shot down in the streets of our communities by those sworn to serve and protect. It’s a powerful piece of art-as-politics.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Mensa said, “This record is like self-defense. Because to me, Laquan McDonald represents Emmett Till, hich represents every name down the line and since then a lot of things have changed, but one main thing hasn’t changed is that our lives are not respected.”

Watch the video in full below:

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