Long Beach artist Vince Staples is usually a lowkey and reserved character who makes exceptional music with no shenanigans or mouthing off on the side. However, in an interview with Complex, the emcee revealed why he keeps his head low.
Staples’ full-length sophomore album, Big Fish Theory, was dedicated to exploring the idea of how MCs often look at themselves as big fishes in a small pond, telling Complex, “It encompasses things: Being larger than life in a smaller world, so to say, and how rappers are perceived and perceive themselves.”
Staples insisted that he has never seen himself as competing with anyone in the industry and will never waste time talking about someone else on a track. When asked who won the lyrical feud that took place in 2017 between Nicki Minaj and Remy Ma, Staples simply responded, “Shit is corny. It’s fucking corny! I’m not gonna go book studio time to talk about you.”
When presented with the fact that battles have been a pillar of hip-hop culture since its creation, Staples bluntly professed, “So watch a Smack battle. They’re much better at it. King of the Dot. You have the UW League in New Jersey. So many battle leagues. Go watch some Charlie Clips. I don’t wanna see people demean one another for no reason when they can have a phone conversation. Especially when they’re actually successful musicians.”
He continued, “There is battle rap. I am a fan of that, but as far as the spitefulness of it? ‘Cause battle rappers are actually like all friends for the most part, and they write it, have fun, and talk about it on Facebook later. It’s real fucking cute.”
However, he maintained his stance on career musicians using their craft to feud and disrespect others, asserting, “[Battle Rap’s fine] but all that other shit, they can get the fuck out of here. That shit is corny as fuck. It’s like, ‘I’m gonna say really hurtful things about you for the sake of Hip Hop.’ Oh.”
Vince Staples has never found himself at the centre of any feud, and although a social media spat or lyrical beef can provide good publicity, the ‘Bagbak’ artist assured fans that he would not be tarnishing his brand for anything. You can watch Staples’ interview below.