Young West-Coast rapper Vince Staples has been making noise in the underground rap scene ever since he dropped a remarkable verse on Earl Sweatshirts album Doris, on the track "Hive", a personal favorite of mine from last year. And while I haven't exactly been too hot on the past couple of mixtapes that Vince has dropped, I have to say he's in prime form on his latest EP, Hell Can Wait.
On this EP, Vince drops a lot of solid verses and some decent choruses, backed by a lot of eerie buzzing beats that call back to the west coast greats of the 90s, but also bring to mind the new faces of the west coast, such as that latest LP from Schoolboy Q, and some bits of Odd Future as well.
The EP flows pretty well too, with the first four tracks focusing on everything from a tough childhood being raised by paranoid drug dealers ("Screen Door") to Vince's own take on the recent media focus on police brutality on the superb single "Hands Up".
I would say the only weak track on the entire LP is the closer, "Feelin' The Love" which is a little too repetitive for my taste, and features one of the weaker hooks as well. However, I found myself being really into the albums other softer moment, "Limos" with it's description of a problematic relationship, and a wonderful vocal feature from Teyana Taylor.
I can't exactly knock the EP for being short, but I can honestly say that it left me wanting more. I can only hope that his next full length is as interesting and fleshed-out as this EP is. I'm glad to see Vince living up to his massive potential.
8.7/10
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