Rap is a very powerful medium. Some MCs look to educate the masses as have Kweli and Mos Def. Others use rap as away to simply make money; here i cue Rick Ross. Even more rappers see it as a vehicle to escape poverty’s vicious lifestyle; the entire Chicago drill music scene can attest to this. But the most relateable rappers are those who use rap as a medium tell their stories . I think understanding the power that rap can have is essential to really appreciate what Vince Staples has done in his latest effort, Shyne Coldchain Vol. 2. It is also just as important to realize that Staples is only twenty years old.
Staples picks up where he left off his last mixtape, weaving more intricate yarns of his life in the streets of Ramona Park, Long Beach. Between now and Stolen Youth, Staples has somehow managed to become more pessimistic. On the first cut of the project, Progressive 3, he quips “The black and brown been going through a holocaust/ You see, Obama just a house n**gga to me/ they locked up the children up in prison and they ditchin the key”. On the next track Locked & Loaded, it doesn’t get better with bars like “I never needed nobody to believe in/ I seen ’em change like the seasons/ R.I.P., you just a candle on the cement.”
Staple is remarkably conscious and yet apathetic in regards to his situation and the line he walks as he tries to survive in Ramona Park. His portrayal of the harsh reality is, at times, reminiscent of Nas’ Illmatic, sans the hope and the warmth with which Nas conveyed his experiences. If anything, Staples’ nimble wordplay is nightmare inducing and provides the listener with a grizzly view into his sad and morbid reality. Even Jhene Aiko’s (on Oh You Scared) vocals come across as eerie. The production, mostly provided by the legendary No ID, helps foster feelings of despair, disseminated throughout this mixtape, chock full of 808s, eerie bells sounds, razor sharp snares, incessant hi hats, nerve-wracking synths, and paranoia inducing choir cuts.
While it stands at a meager 10 tracks and less than half an hour, i believe Shyne Coldchain Vol. 2 is another free album. The lyricism is exemplary, the content is raw and earnest, and the production adds enhancement to the story being told. i can only wait in excitement to see what Staples has in store in the future. Scoob
