Dark Times - Vince Staples: Review
Review By Lav: Vince Staples is a California rapper who broke through around a decade ago with a unique voice and a seemingly infinite saga of street tales woven impressively into cleverly written raps. After dropping his critically acclaimed debut in 2015 he's had a strange career ever since. It's marked primarily by the divisive Big Fish Theory which saw him defying rap conventions with the help of producers like Sophie, Flume, and Jimmy Edgar, as well as his somewhat maligned self-titled album with wall-to-wall production from Kenny Beats. He's had multiple short projects released in the mean time to varying degrees of acclaim, but I still can't say I've ever seen him as focused and consistent as on his debut Summertime 06 . Delightfully, two of the biggest strengths of Dark Times is its consistency and focus. The album is fitting dark, but also surprisingly soulful throughout something set up by its great lead single Shame On The Devil . It's got a sa...