New Vince Staples album called “FM!” dropped last night.
I’ve always really liked Vince, and on first listen this new hard-going, short and punchy EP-length album is no exception.
However — Howver , I say — every time Vince drops a new album I find myself expecting a tour de force on par with “Summertime ‘06,” which stretched the possibilities for a new hip-hop artist much like Kendrick’s “good kid, mAAd city” did. And every time, though I’m always happy with the result, I am a little disappointed that the sprawling, boundless, textured style of that first full-length album seems to behind him.
I like “Prima Donna,” and “Big Fish Theory” and this new one — all great projects — but, while these projects are fun and WAY above the standard quality level of hip-hop in the 2010s, the genius of “Summertime ‘06” has never been replicated.
I’ll be listening more for sure.