Vince Staples’ seventh album finds the Californian rapper experimenting with rock music. Historically, this is a genre that has not married well with hip hop, but it suits Staples perfectly. In the second preview of ‘Cry Baby’, now available, Vince surrenders to the injustices of the world. ‘White Flag’ is the Song of the Day.
In ‘White Flag’, Staples chooses a beat closer to R&B and soul than to rock, contrary to what he showed in ‘Blackberry Marmalade’. This gives the artist space to be in a no-man’s zone at all times: he raps and sings at the same time.
He talks about how “love turns into war” while recounting episodes of racism and police abuse, from being handcuffed “in the back seat” to being treated like an alien: “When the fences see a young black man on the road / Why do they treat me like I’m a UFO?” Staples has no choice but to raise the white flag: “I don’t want to fight anymore.”
The song’s message is made even more explicit in the video, in which Vince paints an American flag white, until no color remains visible, and proceeds to shoot it with an assault rifle.
