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Vince Staples

Shyne Coldchain Vol. 1

Released: December 30, 2011

Label: Self-Released

Review By: Melissa Bond

Vince Staples made his way into the rap game being featured in Earl Sweatshirt from Odd Future’s song “Epar”, on his album Earl. From his 2010 debut on Earl’s album, Staples has been closely related to the Odd Future scene and was heavily featured in Mike G’s Award Tour EP. However, he is not an official member of this Odd Future crew for unknown reasons. This has obviously not stopped Staples in his rise to success though. In November of 2011, Vince dropped his single “Versace Rap” leaving fans hungry for more from this unique artist.

This album consists of thirteen relatively short tracks, but in no way does the length affect the quality. Much like many other songs Vince Staples has released there are many references to rape and murder, along with strong profanity. There is a definite Odd Future vibe that is prevalent throughout, and heavy bass to satisfy all of those Odd Future fans. Vince Staples not only has a voice that stands out but a way with words, which is becoming quite difficult to come by in the present day hip-hop scene.

Mike G and Vince Staples seem to be working in cahoots with one another because like Vince being featured in Mike G’s Award Tour, Mike G plays quite a few parts in this album as well. The two rappers do in fact have very similar styles, and use beats that could easily be mistaken for the others. However there is a significant difference between these two recent releases; Vince Staples completely executes every song on this album while Mike G was most definitely lacking in several areas. Tracks to listen to would most definitely be “Taxi”, “Dreams Turn”, “Versace Rap”, and truthfully the album as a whole. There is a great flow between each song, leading very nicely into the next track. No doubt will Vince be releasing more works in the near future after the success of this album, and perhaps he will slowly start to take the place of other Odd Future members as they sink into the background.