Vince Staples he has always presented himself as a person of principle and remains one of the greatest minds in Hip-Hop, even if his remarks annoy some. The Long Beach, California native recently spoke at an event in his hometown and was asked about the ongoing Drake and Kendrick Lamar but his response was directly aimed at criticizing the music industry.
Vince Staples, 30, was a guest at the first annual Youth Day at the LBC event over the weekend, which also included a town hall with Long Beach Mayor Rex Richard alongside the rapper and actor. Fans in attendance were given the opportunity to ask questions and the fan wanted Staples' opinion on Hip-Hop's hottest feud.
With his signature, Staples echoed similar thoughts he shared The Joe Budden Podcast where he tried to explain to the cast why the war between Kendrick Lamar, Drake and J. Cole was largely pointless and the only people benefiting are the labels. Staples' view was largely dismissed as he refused to engage in beef nihilism and instead stuck to his moral that the industry is literally doomed.
“This label just folded all of their independent labels and affiliates into each other,” Staples said of his current label, Universal Music Group, which he's been signed to since he was 17. Staples explained that the label has not paid him since 2018.
Staples then explained that the dissolution of independent labels and subsidiaries also meant that blacks invested in growing their labels' Hip-Hop and R&B divisions were either out of a job or moved to positions outside their wheelhouses.
“None of them [labels] they don't exist anymore. They dumped all the label heads and if they didn't, they turn them into glorified A&Rs. They cut 50 percent of the people that work in all those departments, most of those people are us people of color, coming from hip-hop and R&B and that other stuff, right?'' Staples continued.
In a somewhat dark way, Staples basically said that a Hip-Hop beef is the least of his worries while the industry he was a part of as a teenager is collapsing before his eyes.
“So then we get charged from our contracts, we get prices from our footprints. There are no record labels, basically, that have an incentive to sign black music and it's happening right in front of our eyes,” Staples shared. “While Taylor Swift is fighting to get people streaming money, n*ggas are on the internet fighting each other over some rap rap. That's how I feel about it, honestly.”
Like his comments to JBP, Staples' comments found their way online and fans reacted to parts of his response. Some fans also took aim at Staples for challenging what they see as respectability politics. Staples also drew flak from those who didn't enjoy his comment.
We have comments from all sides below.
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Photo: Getty
