Album Review: Summertime '06 -­ Vince Staples

Summertime '06 -­ Vince Staples

Summertime '06 is an album which shows off Vince Staples incredible talent. The 22 year
old really shines through on the grimy production of the album which is done mostly by DJ Dahi, Clams Casino and No I.D.; all who have good track records with Dahi working with Drake and Schoolboy Q; Clams Casino with A$AP Rocky, Mac Miller and The Weeknd; No I.D. has also worked with Kanye West among others
Most of the production on this double album is very unique and fits Vince’s flow extremely well.

Summertime '06 submerges you into the depth’s of Staples' mind. He lets you know exactly
what is going through his head. “Folks need Porsches, hoes need abortions, I just need ya’ll
out of my business” (Norf Norf) is a good example of this because for many people, cars are their livelihood and bring joy to their lives. Consequently, they aspire to buy a new fancy car. For many “hoes,” unprotected sex is their livelihood, which would leave them needing abortions often. Vince Staples doesn’t want anybody knowing what makes him tick, though he obviously loves rap a lot. There are many obviously great punch lines from Staples’ on this album and they fit so well over the dusty and banging production and he has company from the likes of Jhene Aiko, Kilo Kish and Desi Mo, although he mostly uses the features for hooks.

Most of the tracks have Staples’ killing his verses but one of the standout tracks of the album is ‘Summertime’ which has Staples’ exchanging his usual flow for a slower and more emotional tone over Clams casino’s trademark hum of synth’s. This song is about Staples’ apparently being driven crazy and wanting to build a life with the woman mentioned throughout the album, the final track on the first disc touches on a lighter side of Vince as he
brings his insecurities and pain to the front lines. ‘Summertime’ shows that he is versatile as
a rapper and isn’t afraid to play around with his flow.

Other standout songs include Surf, Get Paid, Street Punks and Norf Norf but the whole album stays consistent throughout and is a good listen from front to back. A highly recommended album for any hip-hop fan which packs a punch and doesn’t leave you like you need more with two sides and a total of 20 tracks. An album which definitely does qualify as one of the top hip­-hop/rap projects of 2015