Vince Staples
Vincent Jamal Staples is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He first became known for his appearances on the projects from Odd Future members and affiliates, including Earl Sweatshirt's Earl and Doris, Mike G.’s Ali and The Jet Age of Tomorrow's Journey to the 5th Echelon. He signed with Talib Kweli's Blacksmith Records prior to the release of his collaborative mixtape with Mac Miller, Stolen Youth. The following year, he signed with No I.D.'s ARTium Recordings, an imprint of Def Jam Recordings, to release his debut extended play, Hell Can Wait, which received critical acclaim and marked his first entry on the Billboard 200.
His debut studio album, Summertime '06, spawned the single Norf Norf, which was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. He subsequently released Big Fish Theory, FM!, Vince Staples, and Ramona Park Broke My Heart. His sixth album, Dark Times, marked his final release with Def Jam. Staples' music has been described as West Coast hip hop, often containing conscious subject matter while production experiments with avant-garde, dance and electronic influences.
Outside of his solo career, Staples is a member of the California-based hip hop trio Cutthroat Boyz with Aston Matthews and Joey Fatts. He has made several film and television appearances as an actor and a voice artist, including American Dad!, Dope, Mutafukaz '', Lazor Wulf, Abbott Elementary, and White Men Can't Jump. In 2015, he became the spokesperson and brand ambassador for Sprite.
In 2024, Staples created and starred in The Vince Staples Show'' on Netflix.
Early life and education
Staples was born on 2 July 1993 in Compton, California. The majority of his family are immigrants from Haiti, who first arrived in Eastern Canada and then Louisiana, where they assumed they could get "cheaper land." They did not know about the prevalence of slavery in the United States at that time. Staples' maternal grandfather, Andrew Hutchins, was a young boy when he moved to the country and served in the army to support his family. As a "die-hard" Dodgers fan, he later decided to settle in Compton after learning that the city was the birthplace of Duke Snider. Staple's family, including his parents and siblings, "got adopted into" into the Compton's "gang culture." In a 2016 interview, he said: "There's no better way to put it than: my family came from the streets. My whole family was gang members. I never knew what I wanted to do besides that."Staples' father was arrested on Christmas when he was in first grade, after which, his mother, Eloise Staples, moved the family to his aunt's Compton back-house. The discounted rent allowed her to enrol Staples in the Optimal Christian Academy, a small, black-owned private school on Palmer and Long Beach Boulevard, which he attended from fourth to eighth grade. In school, he was "enamored" by current affairs and politics, winning awards for his writing. He was a "quiet, straight-A student with a photographic memory" and a "skate kid" who played football, baseball and basketball. He participated in Snoop Dogg's Snoop Youth Football League, and recalled playing against "grown-ass men" from the Carson Colts and Mission Viejo Cowboys. According to him: "Snoop really did it big, we got our names on our jerseys, we had the best cleats, the best helmets, you know Snoop Dogg really loved football."
Growing up, Staples spent a "significant time" on the Eastside, Long Beach with Hutchins, who was, by then, a retired truck driver and construction worker. In middle school, he started spending more time in Long beach, California with his elder cousin, Joey Fatts, and joined the 2N Gangsta Crips, a prominent street gang. After graduating from Optimal, Staples attended the majority-white Mayfair High School in Lakewood. As a freshman, he was caught with a stolen phone, and the school authorities used the incident as "a pretext to target a black kid with gang ties" despite multiple witnesses, including the owner of phone, vouching for his innocence. When his mom picked him up, she was shown a file, with Staples' picture on top, that referred to him as an "active gang leader." He was charged with "multiple felonies, including aggravated assault, threatening a witness, and armed robbery." However, the school and the law enforcement officials agreed to drop all charges if he left Mayfair. Shortly after, his mother sent sent him to live with one of his sisters in Atlanta for a "cooling-off period." There, he attended Westlake High School in Fulton County, Georgia for eight months. When he returned to Long Beach, his mother was sick with cancer. Over the next two years, Staples attended several schools including Jordan High School in Long Beach, Esperanza High School in Anaheim, and Kennedy High School, among others. He eventually dropped out and began couch surfing between the homes of his friends and his extended family. He briefly lived with his friend's family on Poppy Street, located in the Ramona Park neighborhood of North Long Beach.
Career
2009–2013: Beginnings and ''Stolen Youth''
In 2010, Staples befriended musician Dijon Samo, who introduced him to Odd Future's Syd tha Kyd. Although he had been "rapping for fun" until now, the Odd Future studio offered him with "a safe space with a couch to crash on." He quickly bonded with Syd, his brother Travis "Taco" Bennet, and Odd Future members Mike G. and Earl Sweatshirt. He recorded epaR with Sweatshirt for the latter's mixtape Earl released in March 2010, a song that contributed to the Odd Future's "early hype." Both Staples and Sweatshirt disavowed the song later for "its depictions of rape." Staples has also clarified that he wasn't a member but an affiliate of the Odd Future. Complex named Earl as the 24th-best album of 2010. Shortly after, Sweatshirt abruptly disappeared from the country, having absconded to Samoa at the behest of his mother. By the end of 2011, Odd Future had declined in popularity.After meeting B. Symth through Om'Mas Keith of Sa-Ra, who encouraged him take music more seriously, Staples released his debut mixtape Shyne Coldchain Vol. 1 on 30 December 2011. In 2012, after Sweatshirt returned from the South Pacific, he introduced Staples to Mac Miller, whose house "emerged as a West Coast rap camp." Miller handed Staples the beats that he had been working on, and eventually produced the latter's 2013 mixtape Stolen Youth. The mixtape featured guest appearances from fellow American rappers Miller, Ab-Soul, Schoolboy Q, Da$H, Hardo, and Cutthroat Boyz's Joey Fatts. He also toured as a supporting act on Miller's The Space Migration Tour. Around the same time, Smyth helped Staples negotiate a record deal with Def Jam Recordings, allowing him to move away from Poppy Street.
In October 2012, Stapes released a collaborative mixtape with Michael Uzowuru, Winter in Prague, which was produced by Uzowuru. In 2013, he featured thrice on Sweatshirt's debut studio album Doris, including the single Hive.
2014–2015: ''Shyne Coldchain Vol. 2'', ''Hell Can Wait'', and ''Summertime '06''
On 13 March 2014, Staples released his fourth mixtape called Shyne Coldchain Vol. 2. The mixtape features the production from Earl Sweatshirt, Michael Uzowuru, Childish Major, No ID, Evidence, DJ Babu, and Scoop DeVille; as well as guest appearances from singer-songwriters Jhené Aiko and James Fauntleroy. On 2 March 2014, he began touring in the United States with a Schoolboy Q and Isaiah Rashad on the Oxymoron World Tour to support the release of Schoolboy Q's album Oxymoron.On 15 August 2014, Staples released a music video for "Blue Suede". The track was made available on iTunes. On 9 September 2014, Vince released another new song titled "Hands Up" via iTunes. He released the EP Hell Can Wait on 7 October 2014. Prior to the EP's release Staples revealed during an interview with XXL Magazine that it would include guest appearances from Aston Matthews and Teyana Taylor, along with productions from No I.D., Infamous, and Hagler.
On 4 May 2015, Staples released the first single from his debut album, called "Señorita". He later announced it that his debut studio album would be titled Summertime '06., In June 2015, Staples was named as one of the ten rappers of XXL's "2015 Freshman Class". On 15 June 2015 Staples released the second single from his debut album, "Get Paid" featuring Desi Mo. On 22 June 2015, he released the album's third and final single, Norf Norf. The track reached viral prominence after a video of a mom tearfully complaining about the song became popular on social media. The album was released on June 30, 2015. It received widespread acclaim and debuted at number 39 on the US Billboard 200.
2016–2017: ''Prima Donna'' and ''Big Fish Theory''
On 23 February 2016, Staples was announced as part of the line up for the 2016 Osheaga Festival. On 25 August 2016, Staples released his second EP, the seven-track Prima Donna, which was accompanied by a short film. On 3 February 2017, Staples released "BagBak", the first single from his next studio album. A remix of the song was later featured in the trailer for the Marvel Studios film Black Panther. On 23 March 2017, he was featured on the Gorillaz track "Ascension" from their album Humanz. In an interview on Zane Lowe's show Beats 1, he announced his upcoming album would be called Big Fish Theory and released an accompanying single, "Big Fish", which was followed by the album's third single, "Rain Come Down" on 8 June 2017, featuring Ty Dolla Sign. The album was released on 23 June 2017 and received with widespread critical acclaim.2018–2021: ''FM!'', and self-titled album
In 2018, Staples set up a GoFundMe page titled "Get the Fuck Off My Dick" seeking $2 million as a response to people criticizing his work; they could pay to have him retire early. However, it was briefly taken down given the low response. The money made from the page was subsequently donated to the Michelle Obama Neighborhood Library in Long Beach. On October 2, Staples released his third studio album FM!. Produced primarily by Kenny Beats, the album is framed as a radio station takeover, featuring recurring skits hosted by Los Angeles radio host Big Boy. Additionally, Staples contributed the song "Home" to the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse soundtrack, which was originally previewed in the movie's trailer in December 2017.Staples and rapper Tyler, the Creator announced on 15 November 2018 that they would be doing a tour around North America from 26 January to 4 March 2018. Staples collaborated with film composer Hans Zimmer on a remix of the UEFA Champions League Anthem for the FIFA 19 reveal trailer. On 15 December 2018, Staples and celebrated singer and songwriter Billie Eilish released the single "&Burn", which would later appear on the reissue of Eilish's EP Don't Smile at Me later that month. The song was certified gold in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America on 2 April 2020.
In 2019, Staples released three singles: "So What?", "Sheet Music", and "Ad 01: Hell Bound", each accompanied by an episode of his YouTube series The Vince Staples Show.
By April 2021, Staples announced that he was working on a new album, which was later revealed to be self-titled. Released on 9 July 2021, Vince Staples received critical acclaim for its introspective lyrics and minimalist production. Critics praised its concise nature and the depth of its lyrical content, highlighting it as a significant work in Staples' discography.