Stereogum — Over the weekend, Vince Staples returned with "Blackberry Marmalade," an absolute statement of a new single. It's a song about being Black and exploited in America — the sense that white people are trying to use you and kill you, no matter what you... more info

Stereogum — Vince Staples’ Dark Times was one of the most important rap albums of 2024. While his Netflix series The Vince Staples Show was canceled early this year, he’s been busy gearing up for his new independent era. Staples recently launched a private D... more info

Stereogum — Last year, Vince Staples debuted The Vince Staples Show . Vince Staples himself is the show’s star and creator. It’s an absurdist comedy based, in the loosest possible way, on his own life. Making a TV show hasn’t interrupted Staples’ rap... more info

Stereogum — Paul Castelluzzo has worked with many talented musicians over the years — from Clairo to Vince Staples to Justin Bieber to Kali Uchis to Mac Miller. But now, he’s started to release his own music under the name Hether, including last month’s... more info

Stereogum — Guest-verse quality tells you a lot about a rapper’s level of respect among their peers. If a rapper puts out an album full of sloppy autopilot guest-verses, then chances are the rest of the rap world doesn’t consider this person to be much of... more info

Stereogum — “Hey!” Vince Staples shouts with the cheer of a late-night host walking out to the audience. The greeting is the first word on his debut album, and sets up the black humor that follows: “I’m just a nigga, until I fill my pockets/ And then ... more info

Magnet Magazine — MAGNET’s Corey duBrowa picks the best hip-hop releases of the year 1) Kendrick Lamar GNX (pgLang/Interscope) 2) Joey Valence And Brae No Hands (self-released)3) Doechii Alligator Bites Never Heal (Top Dawg/Capitol)4) ScHoolboy Q Blue Lips (Top Daw... more info

Stereogum — You could argue that Ab-Soul has always been the resident underachiever in the West Coast rap supergroup Black Hippy, a team full of overachievers. You could argue just as easily that Ab-Soul was Black Hippy’s secret weapon, the most underrated ... more info

Stereogum — We have an epidemic here in the live music world. Earlier this month at Lollapalooza, Vince Staples brought a fan onstage to rap “Big Fish“; the guy didn’t exactly nail it, but at least he did the right song. That was not the case for the fa... more info

Stereogum — Little kids everywhere dream of moments like this. Vince Staples played the final day of Lollapalooza on Sunday, and wound up bringing a fan onstage to give his best crack at rapping along to “Big Fish.” more info