Vince Staples understands that listeners occasionally want more — and sometimes, something different — from him.
“No matter what level you reach, I don’t know an artist who puts something out and people are just like: ‘OK, we’re done. Thank you,” Staples, ever rational, says. His allure is a mixture of defiance in the face of expectations and distance kept from the public.
Since the mid-2010s, Staples has carved out a career by making vivid, hard-to-define hip-hop that’s perpetually been on the verge of finding a larger audience. He’s a nimble rapper, deftly maneuvering through verses depicting the street politics of his native Long Beach that exhibit his shrewd sense of humor (“Everybody tough, ‘til they gotta go and see the judge,” he quips on 2021’s “Are You With That?”) and forthrightness (“I ain’t never ran from nothin’ but the police,” he says on his 2015 single, “Norf Norf”). He’s worked with Kendrick Lamar, arguably the most lauded rapper of his generation, as well as pop star Billie Eilish, and has amassed over a million Twitter followers via wry observations such as: “Tour just jail wit a talent show.”
