Vince Staples is one of the only contemporary artists representing the LA outer city of Long Beach. The region is most known for producing the iconic G-funk collective 213, comprised of Warren G, Nate Dogg and Snoop Dogg, all of whom became legends, respectively.
Long Beach is an underrepresented West Coast city, and Snoop Dogg is one of the city’s only superstars. However, Vince Staples is now carrying the torch for Long Beach again.
The city is a multi-faceted region, and Vince Staples shows another side of Long Beach. Snoop Dogg (real name Calvin Broadus) grew up on the East Side of the city, whereas Staples was raised on the North Side.
Broadus was a loyal member of the Rollin’ 20s Crip gang. However, Staples grew up purely focused on music. The Summertime ’06 emcee networked with many artists in LA County and was a close associate of Odd Future. His mixtapes Stolen Youth and Shyne Coldchain II were a massive success on the mixtape-sharing platform DatPiff.
Staples’s debut album featured production from some of the legends in the game, such as DJ Dahi, Clams Casino and No I.D. and his sophomore project, Big Fish Theory, boasted names such as Kendrick Lamar, A$AP Rocky and even Damon Albarn. The 2017 body of work debuted at number 16 on the Billboard 200, and Staples has been played a huge part in the advancement of Long Beach music.
In an interview Toshi Kondo for Tidal, the Long Beach lyricist revealed his favourite Snoop project and disclosed he has a love for R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece. Elaborating, he stated, “One of my favourite Snoop albums. It had the right message at the right moment, embodying what Long Beach felt like at that point in time. From the production to what was said to the videos, everything was perfect. Great memories from this project.”
Staples also cited The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Back to Black by Amy Winehouse, College Dropout and Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division as some other projects that he enjoys and has been inspired by. You can hear Snoop’s album below.