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.”
