News: Vince Staples Covers The Fader

Vince Staples covers The Fader for the first time talking about life before music. He also talks about his forthcoming EP, Prima Donna and much more. Take a look at some of the interview below and read the full cover story over at The Fader.

On His Past:

“Music was the last thing I ever thought about,” Staples says. “I used to stutter and hated speaking in front of the class.” But he always had a stellar ear. His mother, Eloise Staples, describes him surprising the family by putting on shades and singing “Georgia” with a pitch-perfect Ray Charles imitation. In school, Staples was enamored by politics and current affairs, and won awards for writing, including a paper in the 6th grade that stressed the importance in life of the “oven approach” versus the “microwave mentality.”

“There’s no better way to put it than: my family came from the streets. My whole family was gang members. I never knew what I wanted to do besides that.”

On Music:

“I didn’t feel connected to hip-hop growing up. I never wanted a chain or a mansion. I just wanted niggas to stop dying.”

“Rappers is busters. Niggas can’t lie to me. I’ve been around too long,” Staples says. “Rappers be tucking their tiny T-shirts into baggy jeans just to show they bought a $500 dollar belt,” he adds, lifting his eyebrows like Groucho Marx. “They ain’t shooting nobody, bro.”