Vince Staples – Summertime ’06 [Album Stream]

Vince Staples let’s us hear his new album “Summertime ’06” one week ahead of it’s scheduled release on June 30th. Production is handled by No I.D., DJ Dahi, Clams Casino and Christian Rich. Take a listen below.

The album begins with “Ramona Park Legend, Pt. 1,” where woozy, tropical wa-wa guitar, sporadic snares and bass kicks blend with the peaceful sounds of seagulls screeching and waves ebbing and flowing—only to be pierced by a single gunshot. Welcome to Long Beach, Calif., Staples’ hometown. But Summertime ’06 is no sunny “Summertime In The LBC.” “We love our neighborhood, so all my brothers bang the hood / I never vote for presidents / the presidents that change the hood / is dead and green,” rhymes Staples on the album’s manifesto, “Lift Me Up.” He’s as motivated by money as anyone who’s grown up without it, but he’s also keenly aware of racism and inequality, making him a conflicted young man whose perception is clear as his morality is murky: “Fight between my conscience and the skin that’s on my body, man / I need to fight the power but I need that new Ferrari, man.” On “Get Paid” he runs down a laundry list of things he’s done to do just that, from armed robbery to home invasion. But he punctuates his dirty deeds with a statement about the futility of the paper chase: “Money puttin’ n***** in the Matrix, face it,” and an echo by guest Desi Mo: “Money is the means of control!”