The offbeat world of Vince Staples
LOS ANGELES Although Vince Staples has been in the limelight for more than a decade, he still thinks that fame can be a weird thing.
And while the Southern California rapper isn’t concerned with “making the best thing” or reaping critical praise, he’s willing to endure the publicity machine if it means he can continue to find creative fulfilment through whatever art form calls to him.
That’s what propelled the 30-year-old to make his first foray into filmmaking with The Vince Staples Show, a kind of autobiographical, genre-bending, dark comedy series streaming on Netflix.
The artist recently talked about his love of surrealism, religious references and why he misses kids messing up his restaurant orders.
Q One of the things I loved about the show were the elements of surrealism that you have in it. I was curious if that’s something you’ve always been into.
A My first couple I guess, introductions to cinema, as we see it, would probably be The Twilight Zone, The Wizard of Oz, those kinds of things, watching them with my grandparents. And
I’ve always liked the idea of the unknown or just a perceived reality down to something as simple as Toy Story or A Bug’s Life, dealing with perception, especially as a child. As you get older, you learn about David Lynch, you learn about the Coen brothers, you learn about Roy Anderson. You watch Donnie Darko and you’re like, OK, “What’s happening? What’s not happening?” Those kind of things always were interesting to me.
Q You poke fun at the idea of fame a lot and you seem to be cognizant of how weird it is. Is that something you were thinking about?
A I think it’s extremely weird. I don’t necessarily think it’s real, but I feel the need for it is very selfish — not even in a negative sense, but in a practical sense.
It’s necessary because we look for ourselves within other people, and the success of others gives us a sense of accomplishment or sense of just being seen.
And I think we utilize that like, “Oh, I relate to this person. I feel like this person, I look like this person. I talk like this person. I’m from the same place as this person. So since they are special, I’m special, too.” And it just grows as we become more and more consumed with the internet or visual mediums or just the idea of fame as fame changes. So it’s definitely something that deserves commentary.
Q You’ve talked before about concerns you had with artificial intelligence and art. I wondered if you’re still feeling pessimistic.
A Yeah. I mean, it’s less about AI and art and more about how we view each other as humans and our lack of appreciation for one another. If I appreciate you and you appreciate me and we both we both know that, then we bring value to the world that we wouldn’t possibly want to replace. I think we’re limiting human interaction and showing how we feel about each other.
You know, I might be old, but I miss the old lady at the checkout at a Ralphs. I miss kids messing up your order at a restaurant. I miss those kind of simple things.