Vince Staples Rejects Genre Rules on Crybaby — SkimNews
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- Crybaby was assembled from songs Staples had been developing for years rather than newly written for the album; the oldest was probably six or seven years old, he said, with “Blackberry” likely the oldest, “Tulsa” and “Cotton” among the newest, and “TV Guide” really new.
- Blackberry Marmalade emerged from separate fragments over time: once one production took shape, it led into the next, and its video was shot in the style of a first-person-shooter game.
- Vince Staples rejected rigid genre rules during his Rolling Stone Residency conversation at Cherry Lane Theatre, then followed the interview with a band-backed performance; he called hip-hop ruleless and genre only “a section in the grocery store” for audiences.
- Vince Staples said his old label resisted music outside his established hip-hop lane because it assumed audiences wanted a certain sound from Black people; he called that market logic right while hoping the market was more dynamic.
- Vince Staples laid out touring’s upfront economics: artists must fund the bus, band and insurance before shows, and selling no tickets means making no money.
- Vince Staples said he does not tailor work to the white gaze, arguing that criticism reflects the critic’s assumptions, and called his music political simply because his life and perspective are Black.
- Vince Staples said Crybaby’s rock-leaning character was simply the songs he had, not a calculated pivot; his influences came through school, friends, skateboarding and movies, and he cited Ray Charles to illustrate one artist working across gospel and country.
Why it matters: For audiences and record labels, Staples makes the commercial stakes explicit: his old label resisted unfamiliar sounds because it assumed Black listeners wanted one familiar style. The six-to-seven-year age of some Crybaby songs also reframes genre-crossing as curation of existing material, not a deliberate attempt to reposition Black artists.
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