Vince Staples

Background

Vincent Jamal Staples professionally known as Vince Staples has had a steady growth spat throughout his rapping career. He is famously recognized for his rapping and singing skills and has managed to maintain a loyal fanbase over time mainly as a rapper. He was born on July 2, 1993, in Compton, California but after his mother relocated to Long Beach because of high crime rates in Compton, he spent his childhood raised in Long Beach instead. He has five siblings, three sisters and two brothers, him being the youngest. He went to Optimal Christian Academy, where he admitted to being positively influenced. He went to several high schools after graduating from Optimal Christian Academy. One was in Atlanta, where he was sent by his mother to stay with one of his sisters. He later went to Jordan High School in Long Beach, Mayfair High School in Lakewood, and Esperanza High School among others.

He got discovered by Dijon “LaVish” Samo as well as Chuck Wun. He took a trip with LaVish to Los Angeles and met with the Odd Future collective members Syd Tha Kyd, Mike G, and Earl Sweatshirt. All of them eventually became really good friends. Even though his intention was not to become a rapper at the time, he made appearances in their songs. In the long run, he decided to pursue a career in rap and immediately, released his official debut mixtape known as “Shyne Coldchain Vol. 1” in 2011. In 2012, he released another mixtape, this time collaborating with Michael Uzowuru. It was solely produced by Uzowuru and they named it, “Winter in Prague.” Sweatshirt then introduced him to Mac Miller. Under the alias, Larry Fisherman, Miller, and Staples worked on a collaborative mixtape known as “Stolen Youth” which was also a huge factor in his breakthrough into the music industry.

As an individual, he is presently signed to Blacksmith Records, Motown, and Talib Kweli’s label. In 2014, he released his debut E.P. known as “Hell Can Wait” which had hit singles such as “Hands Up” and “Blue Suede” and was followed by his debut album titled, “Summertime ‘06” in 2015. He also made an appearance as a part of X.X.L. 2015 Freshman Class. He, later on, released his second album in 2017, which was known as “Big Fish Theory” and had hit singles like, ‘BagBak,’ ‘Big Fish’ and ‘Rain Come Down.’ It also incorporated avant-garde, electronic, and dance influences. In 2018 he released his third album titled, “FM!” and in 2021, he released his self-titled and fourth album.