Rapper Staples keeps it low-key
Vince Staples should be out living a baller lifestyle right now.
The Long Beach, Calif., native experienced a childhood without his father (who was imprisoned for drug dealing) and an adolescence clouded by his own gang affiliations. At one point, Staples’ cousin was shot and fell into a coma.
After such a tumultuous youth, it might be hard to blame the 24-year-old for indulging in the high life now that he’s rapped his way out of trouble. But Staples, who plays the main stage at the Panorama festival at Randalls Island on Saturday, is one of hip-hop’s low-key new stars. He’s said that he hates spending money, has a good credit score and isn’t especially attracted to frivolity. Instead, Staples is keeping his mind on his music.
“I’m not necessarily that famous like Jay-Z or Drake, so it’s not that hard to keep grounded,” he tells The Post. “We’re called artists, so I think it’s our responsibility to start acting like it and create what we want to create.”
The proof is in his already-impressive body of work. Staples’ 2015 full-length debut “Summertime ’06” (a double album) laid out his story in gritty, plain speak; 2016’s “Prima Donna” EP saw him digging even deeper into his troubled mind-set; and June release “Big Fish Theory” (which hit the Billboard 200’s top 20) has seen Staples expand his palette to incorporate dancier elements. Within two years, he’s covered more ground than most rappers do in two decades.
He also recently contributed to a Gorillaz track, “Ascension,” and Staples is appearing in a current Sprite commercial, in which he plays a deadpan carnival worker. “Do I have any more plans for TV or movies? Well, I never saw myself doing music, so why not?” he says.
Staples has yet to make a big mainstream splash, but he questions if that’s even necessary. “When you’re getting talked about, you have people trying to tell you how to make a hit or how to become famous,” he says, referring to more experienced rappers who have attempted to guide him. “Personally, I couldn’t care less about that. This is your art and your life story. You have to do what you want.”