Ramona Park rapper Vince Staples says he’s releasing two albums this year, the first single of which will be coming out on June 18th.
With that, it’s a perfect time to revisit one of his many terrific projects from the past decade. While Summertime ’06 is undoubtedly Vince’s masterpiece, we want to take it back further and explore his team up with Mac Miller, the phenomenal Stolen Youth LP.
Mac Miller dons his producer alter-ego, Larry Fisherman, to bring perfect beat selection for Vince Staples’ first big mixtape. Simply put, this project is magic, a perfect example of a rapper and producer match made in heaven. Mac shedding his frat-rap shell just as Vince decides to make his official entrance into the game makes for flawless chemistry between Vince’s raps and Mac’s music. Mac’s production is hazy and controlled, yet hard and erratic. Vince excellently juxtaposes this almost psychedelic atmosphere with his sober and jaded delivery. From the moment it begins, we know we’re in for it.
“Live from delusion…”
That first line in the intro track is all you need to prepare yourself, immediately casting you into a world of danger and uncertainty. Fisherman sets a heavenly and open atmosphere for Vince describing his surrounding hell. Fittingly, the final line of the song, “The fear in me is gone/You can hear it in the song while you listenin'” is the perfect bar to introduce the rest of the album. Vince is only 19, but as the album title suggests, his youth has completely vanished. His delivery is tired but hungry, worn down by his surroundings.
“Live and die by this gun”
The third track, Heaven, featuring Hardo and Mac Miller, is where the project really comes into itself, atmospherically. Mac’s verse demonstrates just how much he understands working with Vince. While avoiding the gun talk, he matches the disillusioned and resigned energy that Vince brings to the whole record. Concurrently, Vince sets aside his tougher talk and reflects on lost friends and opportunities, saying “I think a better tomorrow is what I’m trying to make.” While he normally speaks from a hardened shell that’s given up on good, this lyric reveals the true person behind the rapper.
As a result, Vince’s verse in Heaven is the perfect transition to Guns and Roses. In some of the smartest writing of his career, Vince tells three different stories, one per verse. He uses the relaxed and somewhat playful beat to perform with less inner tension and more reflection. A break from the warzone atmosphere of the rest of the album, Vince sits back and tells the stories, knowing that they all can only end with guns and roses, “the two weapons of war.”
“When I die, please don’t let mama cry, Cause she know it had to be him or I”
The fifth track, Back Sellin’ Crack, is the heart of the album. Fisherman brings an atmospheric, hectic, yet beautiful and weary beat, reminiscent of the vibes of Kendrick Lamar’s earlier works. In conjunction, Vince uses the space to expand on the album’s themes. His callous ready-to-die attitude is exemplified in the hook, “killing for the karma, but living for my mama.” Vince’s performance on both of his verses and the hook is both frantic and patient. Finally, the whole cut is brought home by ScHoolboy Q, in one of the strongest verses in his career. If you need any convincing to listen to this LP, this song is the one to do it.
The seventh track, Killin Y’all, featuring Ab-Soul, is another essential pillar of the entire record. Soul and Staples have great chemistry, making Vince bring out one of his hardest verses on here. Vince dares you to “Aim at the head when you fuck with God, Jehova,” one of the many delightfully sacrilegious lyrics on this project, contributing to the complete lack of religion and structure in the world of Vince’s description.
“Never gave a dollar to the pastor”
Vince is nothing if not honest, and Thought About You is his most honest outing on the whole record. He raps his regrets, hopes, and overall cynical view that things likely won’t get better. Lastly, he addresses his ex-girlfriend in the third verse. Though a thematic contrast from the rest of the album, it reveals the person behind the murderous lyrics while giving purpose to the song’s title.
On the penultimate track, Sleep, Vince and Mac treat us to a posse cut featuring themselves, Ab-Soul, and Da$h. The beat is high energy and each MC comes in with full intensity. Mac brings one of the most idiosyncratic verses of his career, followed by Vince ending the song with a nice KO verse. Though, the most fun song on the album, it never strays from the overall energy of the rest of the LP.
After this cut, Vince wraps up nicely with the outro. It’s one of the only moments in the project in which he acknowledges his prowess as a rapper, a huge turning point for him. The making of this mixtape is the beginning of Vince truly rapping as a passion and not just a side hustle. Through making Stolen Youth LP, Vince came in as a shell of a teenager who’d abandoned hope, and leaves as a fully equipped MC.
“Here to tell the world”
Give Stolen Youth LP a listen if you get the chance. In the best ways possible, it feels like a low budget 90’s movie like True Romance, made purely out of passion for the craft. This is both Vince Staples rapping at his A-Game and some of Mac Miller’s finest work, both on beats and bars. It demonstrates the ability that two talented friends have to bring the best out of each other for the sake of music, the culture, and self-improvement. At ten tracks, its a nearly flawless modern gangster rap album from a perspective that Hip-Hop has long needed. Major applause to Vince Staples and the late great Mac Miller.
Stolen Youth LP Rating: Gold
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Jason Heilbronner | Twitter: @JasonHeilbronn1