Vince Staples – “Dark Times” review

Compton, California rapper, singer/songwriter & actor Vince Staples is back with his 5th LP. Emerging as a close affiliate of the now defunct Odd Future collective, he would go on to release 4 mixtapes before signing a joint deal with Blacksmith Records & even No I.D.’s very own Def Jam Recordings imprint ARTium Recordings. My personal favorite of which being Stolen Youth, which was entirely produced by the late Mac Miller. His first major label outing Hell Can Wait was a dope little EP preluding the full-length debut Summertime ‘06, which became one of the best double disc albums of the previous decade. Vince later detailed the pitfalls that came with his success on the next EP Prima Donna & the dude’s sophomore effort Big Fish Theory was unquestionably his most experimental work yet. He later teamed up with Kenny Beats for his 3rd EP FM! & his eponymous 3rd album but coming off Ramona Park Broke My Heart from a couple years ago, Vince is fulfilling his Def James contract on Dark Times.

After the “Close Your Eyes & Swing” intro, the first song “Black&Blue” is this vigorous kickstarter talking about still being on some n***a shit whereas the boom bap driven “Government Cheese” encourages the listeners to smile & not to lose their inner child. “Children’s Song” goes for a twangier trap vibe instrumentally telling y’all to stop playing with his crib & play with your kids instead ahead of “Shame on the Devil” going for a conscious west coast hip hop vibe talking about God making him special.

Jay Versace‘s production on “Étouffée” takes the atmospheric route & Vince paying homage to the New Orleans hip hop scene during the hook & after the “Liars” skit, “Justin” returns to the boom bap telling the story of a woman who’s already in a relationship. “Radio” gives off a solemn trap flare to the beat from Cardo so he can turn up his hustle while “Nothing Matters” brings back the kicks & snares asking why she told him that she loves him when she doesn’t.

“Little Homies” begins the encore of Dark Times by hopping over a funky instrumental telling all his lil homies out there listening to be blessed & keep their heads on a swivel when they stop while the last song “Freeman” prior to the “Why Won’t the Sun Come Out?” outro fulfills Vince’s contract with Def Jam talks about everything being all good.

Even I thought that Vince had already left Def Jam since he’s been releasing his last couple projects through Motown Records, but at least he officially went out by finding the clarity that he was looking for when he initially signed his first major label deal over a decade ago. It has a prominently conscious west coast hip hop sound to it with additional neo-soul, neo-psychedelia, jazz rap & experimental hip hop undertones sprinkled in & you can truly hear his growth after all this time.

Score: 4.5/5

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Vince Staples – “Ramona Park Broke My Heart” review

Vince Staples is a 28 year old rapper, singer/songwriter & actor from Compton, California who came as a close affiliate of the now defunct Odd Future collective. He would go on to release 4 mixtapes before signing a joint deal with Blacksmith Recordings & even No I.D.’s very own Def Jam Recordings imprint ARTium Recordings. My personal favorite of which being Stolen Youth, which was entirely produced by the late Mac Miller. His first major label outing Hell Can Wait was a dope little EP preluding the full-length debut Summertime ‘06, which became one of the best double disc albums of the previous decade. Vince later detailed the pitfalls that came with his success on the next EP Prima Donna, but the dude’s sophomore effort Big Fish Theory was unquestionably his most experimental work yet. But after linking up with Kenny Beats for his 3rd EP FM! & his eponymous 3rd album, Vince is looking to reach out to some outside producers for his 4th one.

“THE BEACH” kicks off the album with some organs talking about his G’s moving whereas “AYE! (FREE THE HOMIES)” follows it up with a guitar driven ballad dedicated to all his homies locked up. “DJ QUIK” takes a spacier route referencing my favorite diss track of all-time “Dollaz + Sense” in the hook just before the DJ Mustard-produced “MAGIC” works in some Bay Area influences talking about feeling like he’s floating.

After the “NAMELESS” interlude, we have Vince on top of a sample of “No Love” by Lyves for “WHEN SPARKS FLY” talking about them taking his girl away from him leading into Lil Baby tagging along for “EAST POINT PRAYER” to deliver some braggadocious trap. “SLIDE” goes into glossier territory talking about being shot at, but then “PAPERCUTS” returns to trap turf explaining that it’s all about the money.

“LEMONADE” is a cloudy declaration of life being bittersweet while “PLAYER WAYS” has a moodier tone talking about keeping it funky with the bitches. “MAMA’S BOY” compares his love for the game to the love he has for his own mother really well over a pillowy beat while “BANG THAT” returns with a gangbanger’s ode.

After the “SPIRIT OF MONSTER KODY” interlude, the penultimate track “ROSE STREET” mixes pop rap with trap to explain him putting his gang ties over hoes & “THE BLUES” closes out the album on a darker note encouraging the listeners to pray for him.

Every time Vince drops a project, I know I’m getting myself into some crazy concept & Ramona Park Broke My Heart lives up to if not surpasses the expectations set by self-titled this past summer. I love how he details his experiences of exploring the utility of home & how the overall sound of the album varies in comparison to his last couple efforts being heavy on Kenny Beats’ signature sound.

Score: 4/5

Vince Staples – Self-Titled review

This is eponymous 3rd full-length album from Compton, California rapper, singer/songwriter & actor Vince Staples. Coming up as a close affiliate of the now defunct Odd Future crew, he would go on to release 4 mixtapes before signing a joint deal with Blacksmith Records & even No I.D.’s very own Def Jam Recordings imprint ARTium Recordings. My personal favorite of which being Stolen Youth, which was entirely produced by the late Mac Miller. His first major label outing Hell Can Wait was a dope little EP preluding the full-length debut Summertime ‘06, which became one of the best double disc albums of the previous decade. Vince later detailed the pitfalls that came with his success on the next EP Prima Donna, but the dude’s last album Big Fish Theory was unquestionably his most experimental work yet. But ever since linking up with Kenny Beats at the tail-end of 2018 for the radio show-themed EP FM!, we’ve heard very little from Vince. So given the 3 year gap & him jumping ship from Def Jam to Motown Records, to say I was excited for him to finally make a comeback is an understatement.

“Are You With That?” kicks things off with a wonky trap instrumental from Kenny Beats (who produced the whole album start to finish) & Vince saying all he wanted was to be a thug growing up whereas “Laws of Averages” is much more slower in terms of production with lyrics about how “I don’t trust no bitch with my government”. Vince jumps on top of a slowed down sample on “Sundown Town” to talk about running wild before taking things into a murky trap direction for “The Shining”.

Meanwhile on “Taking Trips”, we go into more psychedelic territory for Vince to bug out over leading into an interlude entitled “The Apple & The Tree”. He later expresses homesickness with the R&B flavored “Take Me Home” while the penultimate song “Lil Fade” serves as a symphonic ode to all his homies in the pen. After the “Lakewood Mall” interlude, the closer “MHM” works in some synths & rubbery bass to spit that gangsta shit.

For the 3-year wait, I think this self-titled joint was well worth it. Wish it was longer than 22 minutes, but Vince takes through events in his life that he’s never put out there before & he sounds a lot better with Kenny Beats than he did on FM!. Looking forward to hear what route he takes for Ramona Park Broke My Heart.

Score: 4/5

Vince Staples – “Big Fish Theory” review

Almost 10 months after the release of his Prima Donna EP, Cutthroat Boyz member & Odd Future affiliate Vince Staples is now finally delivering his sophomore full-length album. The album opens up with “Crabs in a Bucket”, where Vince is talking about how he hasn’t let go a lot of problems he’s had as well as comparing the black man to Jesus over a atmospheric & trippy instrumental. Especially with the vocal samples. The next track “Big Fish” sees Vince reflecting on how far he’s come in the rap game over a hyphy beat & the Juicy J hook is fitting as well. The “Alyssa Interlude” has a clip from an Amy Winehouse interview for the first half, but then we hear a verse with Vince reminiscing about a girl who’s most likely died & then it finishes with a perfect Temptations sample. The song “Love Can Be…” with Kilo Kish talks about how Kilo’s done with her ex along with the hoes that want a taste of Vince’s fame over an instrumental that’s PERFECT for the clubs. I also like Vince’s homage to both Alright & For Free? by Kendrick Lamar at the beginning & the end of the final verse respectively. The track “745” has some thunderous yet funky bass throughout & he’s talking about picking up his girl at 7:45 in his BMW 745 along with how love’s really hard for him because all the pretty women he’s gotten with his whole life have lied to him. Also, the Adam & Eve metaphor for all the snakes out there during the bridge hit me. After wondering if people in New York would even know if he existed if he were to be murdered today during the 1 minute “Ramona Park’s Yankee Stadium” interlude, we then get into the next song Yeah Right”. On this song, Vince is asking a bunch of questions & talking about what pretty woman want over a distorted yet abrasive instrumental & the guest verse from Kendrick Lamar doesn’t disappoint either. The track “Homage” talks about how no one can hold him back now that he’s a successful rapper over a high-tempo techno beat. The song “SAMO” talks about how nothing has changed & the production is very eerie. The track “Party People” asks how can Vince enjoy the party when all he see is death & destruction as well as him talking about needing good vibes over a beat that once again is perfect for the clubs. The penultimate track “BagBak” pretty much tells the phonies to back off of him because they don’t know him over a hard hitting hip house beat. The closer “Rain Come Down” talks about some gangsta shit was well as metaphorically comparing a stripper to Etta James over a gritty UK Garage-influenced beat. Even though this album is only 36 minutes long, this could very well be better than his debut Summertime ’06. His takes on love are just as nihilistic as he’s always been (especially with the line on “Yeah Right” about a pretty woman slitting her wrist) & the electronic dance music influenced production brings a fitting atmosphere to the lyrics. To anyone who still hates Vince or even refuses to give him a chance because he said the 90’s were overrated a few months after his debut album came out: I don’t think you can deny that this is his most experimental work yet

Score: 4.5/5