Vince Staples’ ‘Summertime ’06’ Turns Six Today!

With Vince Staples gearing up to drop his Kenny Beats produced album on July 9th, his masterpiece (so far), ‘Summertime ’06,’ turns six years old today! His official debut album was released through Def Jam, executively produced by No I.D, and is now a modern rap classic. There’s enough to celebrate about this album to make multiple reviews, but we’ll just cover the highlights for now!

Vince and No I.D.

This LP serves as Hip-Hop’s return to Long Beach, a scene generally untapped since the Snoop Dogg and Warren G era.  This project is like ScHoolboy Q’s ‘Blank Face LP’ on a diet, slimming down the airy atmosphere just a tad for Vince to pop on every beat. The marriage between Vince’s style and No I.D.’s production with help from DJ Dahi and Clams Casino is simply perfect. Not only do they bring the best out of him. Vince brings out completely new sounds from them in perfect synergy.

“From the city where the skinny carry strong heat”

From the ‘Norf Norf’ music video

As Vince has been one of the most consistent rappers since his start, this LP demonstrates his full range of abilities to the max.  Maintaining his overarching POV of a teenager with his youth stripped from him, he manages to come through with a more complete personality than ever before.  There are cuts here for just about every kind of rap fan.  ‘Norf Norf‘ and ‘Señorita‘ serve as the fundamental bangers. ‘Summertime‘ is arguably the most honest song on the album, while ‘Might be Wrong‘ serves as an atmospheric break.

This may be a summer album, but it’s not the kind you want to bump at the beach. It’s Vince’s testament to how reversed the lives in his surroundings are, with Summer being the most dangerous time of year instead of the most fun. Between each gangsta lyric, we get heartbreakingly honest tales of the dense volume of vice surrounding Vince and his peers.

PC: Andrew Toth

This brilliant piece of work deserves a full review of its own, but for now, all we can do is wish it a happy sixth birthday!  Hopefully, Vince is just as proud of this masterpiece as we are of him!

Click here to check out our review of his Stolen Youth LP and here to check out his new lead single!

Single cover art for Vince’s ‘Law of Averages’ lead single, produced by Kenny Beats

Jason Heilbronner | Twitter: @JasonHeilbronn1