''Hell Can Wait'' is the first official EP released by American rapper

Vince Staples Vincent Jamal Staples (born July 2, 1993) is an American rapper and singer. Staples was once a close associate of Odd Future, Mike G and Earl Sweatshirt in particular. He is currently signed to Motown and Blacksmith Records. Staples rose to pr ...

. It marks his first

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project, released under

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

Background

On August 11, 2014, Staples took to

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to announce a new track, "Blue Suede." On August 15, 2014, he released a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for the song. On September 2, 2014, Staples announced the initial release date for the EP as September 23, although, it was later delayed due to sample clearance issues. On September 9, 2014, Staples released the second single from Hell Can Wait, titled "Hands Up". On September 25, the new, and final release date was revealed to be October 7, 2014. On October 1, Staples posted the official track listing.

Critical reception

''Hell Can Wait'' received generally positive reviews from critics. At

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, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an

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score of 80, based on eight reviews. Jay Balfour of ''

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. ...

'' wrote "At 24 minutes, there's a satisfaction in the shortness of ''Hell Can Wait'', partly because it's so well contained, and partly because it hints at what's next. These songs are worth the attention he's drawing, how he'll sustain it for a full album is worth taking seriously." Craig Jenkins of ''

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'' also wrote favorably of the EP, writing "his production values have finally caught up enough to push him past the scrappy sidekick division into the big leagues." Emmanuel C. M. of '' XXL'' wrote, "The growth is unmistakable, with each song and new project, fans see his raw talent getting more finely tuned and concentrated." In a positive review, David Jeffries of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote that although the project is too short for the "full artistic picture", there is no filler and went on to praise "Blue Suede" as the highlight of the EP.

Track listing

Notes * "Screen Door" contains an uncredited sample of "

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", written by

Rico Wade Organized Noize is an American production team from Atlanta, Georgia composed of Rico Wade, Ray Murray and Sleepy Brown. History Among the hit records they have worked on include TLC's "Waterfalls", En Vogue's "Don't Let Go (Love)", and Luda ...

, Patrick Brown,

Ray Murray Raymond Lee Murray (October 12, 1917 – April 9, 2003) was an American professional baseball player and manager. A catcher, he appeared in 250 games played over all or parts of six seasons for the Cleveland Indians (1948; 1950–1951), Philade ...

, Cameron Gipp, Willie Knighton Jr. and Robert Barnett, and performed by

Goodie Mob Goodie Mob is an American hip hop group based in Atlanta, Georgia, consisting of CeeLo Green, Khujo, T-Mo, and Big Gipp. History The group was formed in 1991 by Cameron " Big Gipp" Gipp, Willie "Khujo" Knighton Jr., CeeLo Green (born Thoma ...

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2014 debut EPs Albums produced by No I.D. Def Jam Recordings EPs Hip hop EPs Vince Staples albums