Vince Staples has revealed the album that “changed” his life on his own new project Dark Times.
On the song “Radio,” the Long Beach rapper credited Below the Heavens, the cult classic collaboration from fellow West Coast natives Blu and Exile, with broadening his horizons as a rap fan (and eventual practitioner).
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“I miss the radio/ Big Boy in the mornin, zoned in, waitin’ for my favorite song/ Ridin’ with my pops, in the front seat/ Pull up to the block, with the real Gs/ 92.3, 94.7, The Wave/ I know my real ones from the ghetto relate,” he raps.
“I know they finna play some Nelly today/ My favorite rapper ’til I hit seventh grade/ And Eron played ‘Below the Heavens’ and everything changed/ A better day was just a stones throw away,” he continues, also nodding to the acclaimed L.A.-based label.
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His verse concludes with: “KDAY would play the records that my sister would say was realer than whatever I listened to/ When I got older, I realized it was true/ The purity of when it’s nothin’ to lose/ Back when n-ggas had the rhythm and blues.”
Dark Times can be streamed in full below:
Released on Friday (May 24), Dark Times also marks an important album for Vince Staples as it’s his last for Def Jam, the powerhouse label he’s called home for over a decade.
He recently spoke about the uncertainty of his plans going forward, telling Rolling Stone: “I haven’t really got to that part of the bridge yet. Music is music, and we’re in a new time as far as how these things are approached. I’m not rushing to go into any new contracts or anything like that.
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“But, I was given an opportunity as a teenager by Def Jam and Universal, so I’m very appreciative of that. But as far as now, I’m not sure how that’ll end up happening.”
Below the Heavens, meanwhile, was released in 2007 and is considered by many connoisseurs one of the best rap albums of that decade, despite not enjoying huge commercial success.
Blending Exile’s sunny, soulful and sample-laced production with Blu’s wide-eyed yet introspective lyricism, the project featured appearances from Miguel and Aloe Blacc before they achieved mainstream fame.
The duo have since released two more albums, the most recent of which, Miles: From an Interlude Called Life, dropped in 2020.
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Blu has remained prolific outside of his partnership with Exile having released a staggering four albums in 2024 so far.
