''Vince Staples'' is the fourth studio album 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 was released on July 9, 2021, through

Motown Records Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmant ...

and

Blacksmith Records Blacksmith is a music management company and a record label founded by Harlem born Corey Smyth and Talib Kweli of Black Star. Signees include Jean Grae, Strong Arm Steady, Vince Staples and Idle Warship. Kweli has stated he hopes to sign Camp ...

. The album received acclaim from critics, with the conversational lyrics and production highlighted.

Background

''Vince Staples'' runtime is approximately 22 minutes, the same length as his last project, ''

FM! ''FM!'' is the third studio album by American rapper Vince Staples, released on November 2, 2018, through Blacksmith Records and Def Jam Recordings. The album is primarily produced by Kenny Beats, with further production by Hagler, Cubeatz and Kil ...

'' The album, like his last, was produced by

Kenny Beats Kenneth Charles Blume III, known professionally as Kenny Beats, is an American record producer, audio engineer, and songwriter. Early life Kenneth Blume III was born and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut. He has been studying music since the age ...

. Staples revealed the track list of the album via

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

. He released the singles "Law of Averages" and "Are You with That?" on June 18 and July 6, 2021, respectively.

Critical reception

''Vince Staples'' was met with widespread critical acclaim. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

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

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

score of 84, based on 20 reviews. Aggregator

AnyDecentMusic? AnyDecentMusic? is a website that collates album reviews from magazines, websites, and newspapers. Primarily focused on popular music – covering rock, pop, electronic, dance, folk, country, roots, hip-hop, R&B, and rap – albums are adjudg ...

gave it 7.8 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.

Alexis Petridis Alexis Petridis ( el, Αλέξης Πετρίδης; born 13 September 1971) is a British journalist, head rock and pop critic for the UK newspaper ''The Guardian'', as well as a regular contributor to the magazine '' GQ''. In addition to his mus ...

of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' gave the album four stars out of five. He opined that the album's "spectral take on his region's G-funk, paired with conversational lyrics, deepens his outsider appeal". Kyann-Sian Williams of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' also gave the album four stars out of five, stating "The Long Beach rapper pairs playful one-liners with smouldering beats on his fourth full-length". '' Paste''s Matt Mitchell gave the album an 8.2 out of 10, citing that the foundation of Staples' success "starts in the basement of survival, while other rappers punctuate their ladder-climbing with long bars about seven-figure houses, island getaways and private jets." ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' John Amen gave the album a score of 8 out of 10, concluding, "With his latest jewel, Staples mines an artistic, existential, and notably fertile limbo." Matthew Davies Lombardi from ''

DIY "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi ...

'' enjoyed the album, saying, "There's just enough instrumentation to add depth and texture to Vince's characteristically excellent delivery, but the rapper still stands front and centre, allowing a less bombastic tone to shine. ... If you arrive looking for the hooks of "

Norf Norf "Norf Norf" is a song recorded by American rapper Vince Staples for his debut double studio album, ''Summertime '06''. It was produced by Clams Casino, and released on June 22, 2015 by ARTium Recordings and Def Jam Recordings. It did not peak in ...

" or the explosive chemistry of "BagBak" you could be leaving half empty-handed. But if you're here for Vince Staples, you might just see more of him than ever". Reviewing the album for

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 ...

, Neil Z. Yeung stated, "Though the set feels somewhat sleepy upon first listen, repeat visits reward listeners with Staples' depth and wit, cementing ''Vince Staples'' as a simple yet focused statement from one of the West Coast's most relevant voices". ''

Beats Per Minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

'' critic Chase McMullen said, "''Vince Staples'' is certainly not an easy album to tap into, nor a particularly fun one, but for those interested in a piece of art in which the barrier between the creator and onlooker is veritably nonexistent, to the point of shared claustrophobia, look no further. ... Staples' scars have never been more visible: he's practically put them on display for the world at large. If that's not bravery, I don't know what is". Dylan Green of ''

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'' said, "''Vince Staples'' has movement but lacks velocity, which casts his words in the most intimate light imaginable. ... Even if you're looking for the booming pastel energy of Kenny eatss recent collaboration with TiaCorine or the breathless vibes of his work on Vince's ''FM!'', ''Vince Staples'' still has plenty to recommend. The sonic palette is grayscale without being boring, stoic without missing bounce".

Year-end lists

Track listing

Notes * signifies a co-producer * All tracks are stylized in all caps. * On the informational sticker for the vinyl of this album, the interlude "Lakewood Mall" has an extended title of "Lakewood Mall (Free Pac Slimm)".

Personnel

– vocals * Michelle Mancini –

mastering engineer A mastering engineer is a person skilled in the practice of taking audio (typically musical content) that has been previously mixed in either the analog or digital domain as mono, stereo, or multichannel formats and preparing it for use in distr ...

Manny Marroquin Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is an American mixing engineer.Daley, Dan (May 2005).Manny Marroquin. ''Sound on Sound''. Retrieved February 10, 2007 He has received ten Grammy awards for his professional audio work. Life and career M ...

–

mix engineer A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...

–

recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

* Anthony Vilchis – assistant mixer * Chris Galland – assistant mixer * Jeremie Inhaber – assistant mixer * Zach Pereyra – assistant mixer * Mama – vocals (6) * Fousheé – vocals (7) * Tyson – vocals (9)

Charts

References

{{Vince Staples 2021 albums Vince Staples albums Capitol Records albums Motown albums