Vince Staples Explains Why He Avoids Other Music While Writing
Originally published by AllHipHop Read the original
Vince Staples said he avoided other artists’ music while writing and turned to his own life.
“I don’t like to be inspired by other music,” he told Harper’s Bazaar. “I feel like it’s a disservice to the lives that we live every day.”
His interview, recorded this summer, accompanied the magazine’s November 3 feature naming him its guest music director. He connected music with the memories it brought back.
His album, Cry Baby, arrived June 5 through his Section Eight Arthouse imprint in partnership with Loma Vista Recordings. The ten-song release followed 2024’s Dark Times.
Loma Vista described the record as “a more outwardly facing artistic statement and piece of social commentary,” following the personal focus of his previous work.
The change reached beyond subject matter. Apple Music’s album notes described a sound built on noise rock and post-punk. Its account of “Go! Go! Gorilla” pointed to Staples recalling a police encounter when he was 12. On “7 In The Morning,” the record dealt with war as entertainment.
His work outside the recording booth had fed back into his music, too. As AllHipHop previously reported, Staples said making “The Vince Staples Show” taught him to run music projects more efficiently. He co-created the Netflix series, starred in it and served as an executive producer.
He also brought those concerns into the room with him when he performed at NPR’s Tiny Desk. The set, released July 21, paired material from Cry Baby with “Shame On The Devil” from Dark Times. Two guitarists, a bassist and a drummer backed him, with all four musicians also credited on background vocals.
The lineup included Jennifer Haack and Mikaiah Lei on guitar, Chloe Haack on bass and Myles Martin on drums. He opened with “Blackberry Marmalade” and closed with “Only In America,” putting the new album at both ends of the performance.
Between songs, Staples asked the audience about Black history. “What about Bobby Hutton?” he asked, after first bringing up George Jackson. NPR’s account of the performance said no one raised a hand. He also named Larry Kimmons, who was killed by a Pepperdine University security guard in 1969.
