Vince Staples - Summertime '06

Vince Staples
Summertime '06
2015
Vince Staples - Summertime '06

If you are looking for something to bang in the club or something that is going to get played in top 40 radio please move on. Summertime '06 is way to depressed, way to slow and way better than any of that other shit. On his debut record Vince Staples announces his coming with an onslaught of lyrics, He rarely closes his mouth over the albums 20 tracks, and beats that take the genre to the level it should have been all along. What Staples says is the most important thing here. Each line drips with realism just like Long Beach where the rapper is from. There is a clash of cultures and even temperatures on the record which brings to mind the city itself. Sometimes it is dry and hot and blood boils over, other times it is cold and lonely. There is little breakup between tracks on the record each one never really ending nor ever really beginning which gives the record a stream of consciousness that is really unparalleled in the hip ho world today. On "Lemme Know" Staples raps in unison with Jkene Aiko which is simply a stroke of genius. Having Aiko sing the hook would be one thing but including her vocal on most of the verses just adds something truly incredible.

"Jump Off The Roof" is one of the catchier songs on the record but still comes across as bleak and desolate while "Senorita" (one of the singles from the record) is a trap record that rivals anything Drake or Future are currently doing. What is most refreshing about Vince Staples' style is that He doesn't hide behind beats, themes or really anything. His truth is wide open through his words something many artists could take note of in a world of Hip Hop where copying the guy in front of you seems to be the norm. The second half of the album is broken out into a new set of 10 tracks, as the entire thing was meant to be a double album. However there is very little in the way of distinction from the two sections. The section half does loose a bit of steam in terms of straight lyrics, but the distinction between the songs is a bit more clear and thus easier to follow. On the last track "'06" Staples ends almost mid sentence proving that He still has more to give. Summertime '06 is probably the best hip hop album you won't hear and that is a real shame. Break the mold and get into this.

9 out of 10