The cover art of rapper Vince Staples’ album, Summertime ‘06,  is a visual reference to Joy Division’s album, Unknown Pleasures. On his Instagram, Staples explains the resonance of Joy Division’s 1979 album for his own: “Summer of 2006, the beginning of the end of everything I thought I knew. Youth was stolen from my city that summer and I’m left alone to tell the story”.  The city Staples references is Long Beach, California, where he grew up, and the summer his thirteenth. He expands, with reference to the song Love Will Tear Us Apart and lead singer Ian Curtis: “Nov 30th, 2005 was the beginning of the loss. The following summer multiplied it. Beaten paths, crowded with the hopeless. Same song every day, listening to the words of a dead man destroyed by his own mind and body”. A succession of influences down the years: Ian Curtis’ words to thirteen year old Staples, whose experiences provided the material that crafted Summertime ‘06 nine years later: “Cut class ‘cause it wasn’t bout cash / School wasn’t no fun ‘cause I couldn’t bring my gun / Knowing change gonna come like Obama and them say / But they shooting every day ‘round my mama and way” (from the track Norf Norf). In a Rolling Stones interview earlier this year, Staples made the sardonic comment in response to those who presume his taste,  “‘Oh, you listen to Joy Division?’ Like, why can’t I? Because I’m black?” – a presumption that his Instagram post more than debunks. Speaking to tn2, Staples expands on his creative influences, his artistic process, the politics of music, and his place in the cultural landscape of the US.

In the early days of his career, Staples was a close affiliate of the Los Angeles based hip hop collective Odd Future, which includes members Tyler the Creator and Frank Ocean, working closely with Earl Sweatshirt and Mac Miller. Summertime ’06, Staple’s first studio album, is a double sided LP and an impressive statement of his artistic ability. It is pretty much devoid of features from any recognizable names ( he “didn’t want any”). For three of the tracks – Surf, Norf Norf, and Summertime –  Staples worked with hip hop producer Clams Casino, which came about when they were in the studio for Clam Casino’s album and the two ended up collaborating on Staples’ LP.  Building on an array of mixtapes, collaborations, and 2014 EP Hell Can Wait, Summertime ‘06 arrives in a year which has seen a slew of major hip hop releases, which Staples claims he doesn’t pay a huge amount of attention to:  “I don’t pay much attention to things of that sort. But I can say that some of my favourite music that I’ve ever heard has been coming out recently.” In terms of female musicians whose work Staples admires, “there are so many”, but of those playing  at the moment,  he mentions Kali Uchis, St. Vincent, Syd of The Internet, Adele, and Little Simz. The list is largely one of musicians who, like Staples, have risen to prominence at a young age: Kali Uchis, the US raised Colombian singer, is 22 years old; Syd of the Internet, another member of Odd Future, is 21; and Little Simz, the rapper from Islington, London, who at the age of 21 has a commanding stage presence to rival most experienced MCs out there.

Staples has described Summertime ‘06, released this June to critical acclaim, as very much a reflection of a past time in his life – which runs arguably somewhat deeper than the obsessive 90s nostalgia in hip hop he called out earlier this month, to the scandal of many. Rather than treating 90s hip hop with the usual untouchable reverence, Staples, standing by the fact that he listens to his contemporaries, pointed out that as he was no older than seven during the decade in question, 90s music has never been contemporaneous for him, nor his foremost influence. Staples didn’t back down as the hysteria ensued: “Go raise your kids. Music will be okay” as his Twitter put it (into perspective). Earlier this year Kendrick Lamar’s song Alright from To Pimp A Butterfly  took on the role of a statement of community and hope in the context of the ongoing police brutality against people of colour in the US, in a powerful example of how the politics of music run much deeper than simply paying  lip service to the appropriate artists. Staples’ idea of the cultural relevance of music extends beyond uncritical acquiescence to the popular, to the roles that musicians play in their communities. Indeed, whether it’s gratuitous 90s nostalgia,  the glamorisation of drugs and drinking by some members of the hip hop community (which he, vocally, does not partake in), or the objectification of communities in terms of  race and class in America, Staples takes a discerning look at the prevailing narratives that shape our perceptions of them all.

An impressive facet of Staples’ creative output is his music videos. The visual accompaniments for Blue Suede, Señorita, and Norf Norf have a collectively striking black-and-white aesthetic. Particularly powerful is the video for Señorita, which presents an apocalyptic vision of an incarcerated suburban community, riffing on ideas of a ghettoised society surrounded by surveillance. Asked about the significance of music videos in his creative process, Staples explains:  “Music videos are some of if not the most important aspects to music in today’s generation. Easiest way to garner someone’s undivided attention in a time when no one cares enough”. Señorita sees a man leading a procession of others through the suburban landscape, clutching what looks to be some kind of bible, inscribed with the initials ‘V.S.’. Staples’ lyrics are permeated with religious references, but in a way that apparently rejects Christian doctrine entirely: “Never played it by the book, because the book was full of lies / And the preacher full of shit, and the teacher full of shit” (from his track Turn). Staples, it seems, adheres to no one’s version of reality but his own. The final image of the Señorita music video is a reflexive comment on how his own music might be consumed: it is of an idealised, white middle-class, nuclear family, sitting in front a screen, behind which is the music video we have just watched. It raises some of the tensions in a media-facilitated and profit-driven music industry, whereby those who are far removed from the experiences that have shaped the music, the experiences that shaped Summertime ’06, largely comprise its audience. The strong narrative of this music video played out in tandem with this unforgiving social commentary, operates the way that Summertime ‘06 often does, with incisive lyrics, both cynical and humorous,  set to compelling, often catchy music.

Check out Vince Staples’ twitter, and you will find tweets calling out self-righteousness and hypocrisy at every turn.  Staples, without a doubt, with his direct and irreverent approach,  critiques a society that simultaneously listens to black musicians, appropriates black cultures, and perpetuates systemised police violence against such individuals and communities: “I don’t think that credit is given where it is due to black people in general.” When asked his views on social media’s potential for expression and communication, Staples replies: “Twitter is stupid. The internet is misused in almost every way possible. More information and access, dumber people.” A characteristically critical reply; although arguably a social media presence like his own is refreshing in such a context. The self-avowed ideal listener of his music is “An open minded one”. Staples seems to demand integrity above all else, including from himself: “My favourite artists all have a very strong identity and sense of self-awareness in their music, so I would only hope to do the same.” Staples has spoken in the past about the misrepresentation of communities in the media and culture more generally, but when asked about the impetus behind his art to changing such representations, he is hesitant to ascribe such as role to his work: “I don’t necessarily know if it is or if it isn’t. My focus for my music is to keep it as near to me as possible, so that when I listen to what I create, I see a reflection of myself or my former self.” This rapper clearly has a moral message but adopts it without a moralising stance, aware of the responsibility to the communities he comes from , as well as the community of his music’s audience, critical of those  –  the artists and industries – who would forgo such responsibility.

 

Currently on tour – having played his first Irish show earlier this month at Hidden Agenda’s Metropolis Festival – Staples doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon, recently announcing the extension of his tour and collaborating on a track with Childish Gambino and Jhene Aiko released last week.  He views each project independently in his creative development: “Each project stands on its own but progress is inevitable. Whether the progress is forward or backwards…it’s progress.” When asked what the sound of today is compared to Summertime ’06, he replies, “A happier one” And what keeps him grounded? “Myself.” Ever self-assured, his pervasive confidence and clarity of vision is refreshingly lacking in egotism – impressive regardless, but especially for a 22 year old enjoying newfound international fame. Reflecting on how his thirteen year old self, the boy who lived the experiences that would later become Summertime ‘06, would have reacted if he could see himself now, Staples decides, “I would have laughed it off.” When asked what his plans are for the coming years, musically or otherwise, he says, “I can’t tell what the future holds but I can say that I will try my best to achieve whatever there is ahead of me.” No doubt he will. As both a unique artist and articulate cultural critic,  Vince Staples is someone who is decidedly carving his own way in music.