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(Clicka qua per la versione Italiana)
Following the mixtapes Shyne Coldchain (2011) and
and Shyne Coldchain vol 2 (2014),
Los Angeles' rapper Vince Staples
debuted with a much-hyped EP, Hell Can Wait (2014).
The highlights of the EP are the arrangements:
the nocturnal jazz atmosphere of 65 Hunnid, crafted by
Marco "Infamous" Rodriguez-Diaz, the synth-tinged
Blue Suede, produced by Marvin "Hagler" Thomas,
the bombastic Fire,
Screen Door.
The double album Summertime '06 (2015), architected by
Dion "No ID" Wilson, Dacoury "DJ Dahi" Natche and
Michael "Clams Casino" Volpe,
is a vast claustrophobic fresco of dangerous living.
The 21-year-old rapper unleashed stoic autobiographical narratives
within productions that evoked a terrified state of mind.
The visceral documentary Lift me Up is quintessential Staples,
as is the musically uneventful Norf Norf, produced by Clams Casino.
The sound art combines with his tragic declamation to shape the
threatening atmosphere of Senorita, produced by Christian Rich.
The fractured epileptic Afrobeat of Get Paid, produced by No ID,
the agonizing industrial metronome of Like it is,
even the comic beat of Surf are designed to maximize tension.
The atonal Street Punks (wrapped in a subsonic ambience reminiscent of the Residents),
is the other side of the syrupy and almost operatic Might be Wrong,
as they both serve the same psychological purpose from opposite directions.
Staples is not alone: the producers add the whispered female vocals (that sound more sinister than sensual) over the swampy beat of Dopeman,
multiple counterpoints in the limping rigmarole of Lemme Know,
and screaming tribal women in the wild African dance of
Jump Off The Roof.
If Coldest Nigga Breathing is a piano-based shuffle that sounds like a sarcastic take on lounge music, the percussive cannibal pow-wow orgy of
3230 leaves no doubt about the mood of the juveline delinquent.
In between album Staples released the suicide-centered EP Prima Donna (2016).
Big Fish Theory (2017), a brief album full of half-baked songs,
probably rushed to capitalize on the success of the debut,
adopted a more electronic and metallic sound, marketed as "futuristic" (but ironically reminiscent of the two-step productions of 20 years earlier).
The songs are far less varied than the ones on the debut.
The fast-moving Crabs in a Bucket and the elastic dance Party People try to inject some life in a music that is rarely
adventurous. Yeah Right is the notable exception.
Big Fish discovers the power of subliminal syncopation and
Rain Come Down discovers the power of senseless iteration.
The mini-album FM (2018), containing
eleven brief songs, mostly produced by Kenny Beats, separated by
(annoying) radio-station interludes, went straight for the mainstream.
The single Fun sounds like a group of street musicians dancing around a bonfire.
No Bleedin is facile party music,
Feels Like Summer is a silly melodic ditty, and
Don't Get Chipped sounds downright clownish.
He gets serious on the slow and sorrowful Relay
and Run the Bands, but it's too little too late.
The brief songs of the 22-minute mini-album Vince Staples (2021),
produced by Kenny Beats, are mostly delivered in a
lethargic mood (emblematic Law of Averages),
and therefore largely uneventful, save the occasional intriguing
instrumental background (Take me Home).
Ramona Park Broke My Heart (2022), dedicated to
the neighborhood where he grew up, is not any better than its predecessors,
despite being hailed as "best rap of the year" only because it contains
the radio-friendly single Lemonade, a collaboration with Tyrone "Ty Dolla $ign" Griffin.
Dijon "DJ Mustard" McFarlane provides a pleasant beat and horns samples to Magic, while
When Sparks Fly, produced by Frano Huett, has an interesting rap-singing interplay,
and DJ Quik, produced by Dacoury "DJ Dahi" Natche, floats in a discreet electronic soundscape;
but everything is forgettable.
Drenched in nostalgia, his anemic rapping sounds more like whining.
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