As an Old Guy, I appreciate when a maturing rapper’s themes shift from street swagger to a broader, deeper perspective (Vince Staples is just about to turn the ripe old age of 33, so he’s not going to qualify to write for us yet, but he’s been on the scene since he was a teenager). Vince Staple’s new album, Crybaby, does this, painting a picture of American life that is sometimes idyllic but reminds us that race issues underpin everything. These may not be the newest of themes, but Staples has earned his place in the game to make us listen, especially as we near the onslaught of America 250 celebrations.
For example, the chorus of “Blackberry Marmalade” evokes a relaxing summer day, with the titular spread and iced tea to beat the summer heat. But the verses tackle colonialism, exploitation of Black labor, and a treatise on the most volatile word in the American vernacular, deftly making the point that it can carry very different emotional content depending who says it, and how.
