Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers always dresses for California. It's no secret that the legendary rock star is a huge fan of Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, but now we know he's also a fan of Vince Staples.
Like many of us, Flea took the weekend to really get into the Long Beach rapper's new album Dark Timesand liked it, posting on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter, that he felt the album was “so deep and good”.
Flea is no stranger to hip-hop. The Red Hot Chili Peppers emerged at a time when MTV ruled the world and Flea was a mainstay in Rock N' Jock B-Ball Jam hanging out with rappers like Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, Michael Bivins and Marky Mark.
Back in 2016, he appeared on an episode of Amoeba Music's What's in my bag alongside writer and producer Amy-Jo Albany. The two talked about the records they picked up at the Amoeba Music store in Hollywood, including the few J Dilla records that Flea bought. He referred to the late Detroit producer as “an absolutely transcendent, amazing musician” and decided to zero in on the 2007 reissue of Dilla's Ruff Draft. The bassist was moved by recalling a time when he heard the work while on a hike. “I was in Big Sur by myself and I was wearing headphones and I was walking around these trails in the mountains listening to it, and it just touched this thing in me so deeply. I just couldn't stop crying. It was so powerful,” she said as she fought back tears.
Coincidentally, Vince Staples gives a nod to LA-based Stones Throw Records (the same label that released Ruff Draft) On the track “Radio” from his new album, rapping, “A better day was just a stone/KDAY would play the records my sister said/He was more real than I heard/When I grew up, I realized it was true.”
And in 2019, during an interview with New York radio station ALT92.3, Flea mentioned Thundercat when asked about his favorite new artist. Obviously, Thundercat performs his genre on his own, but the musician did a great job To Pimp a Butterfly and was very close with the late Mac Miller. In short, it's also hip-hop.
The world could use more rap reviews from Flea.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/flea-vince-staples-new-album-review-1235695293/
