Vince Staples - 'FM!' Review

Historically, I am not the biggest fan of Vince Staples. Friends have often tried to delineate his worth to me and yes, he does have the occasional banger, but I have never really understood what it was that made Vince so appealing. His track ‘Ascension’ with Gorillaz is arguably the worst on a twenty-six song album, and earlier this year he made his way onto the Black Panther Soundtrack with ‘Opps’ that was the only bad song on the album, yet these became singles and featured in the film respectively. Over the summer I watched Vince hit the stage at Lovebox, during which he managed to exclusively play the few songs of his that I liked (barring ‘Ascension’) and - notwithstanding some minor technical difficulties like his microphone being so quiet I could barely hear the man - he actually put on a very good show. The conclusion of ‘Yeah Right’ was perhaps a slightly personal sour note, as all that song represents to me is the incredible waste of potential from a dream collaboration of Vince, Kendrick Lamar, Flume and Kučka that resulted in one of the most disappointing songs I have ever heard, but nonetheless I had to say the performance was spectacular.

Fast forward to November and the new project FM! is being dropped without much notice. Aaron is excited for the new album, I was less so; I told him I would put it in my pile of things I don’t care about. Truth be told, this was in part to wind him up but it had an element of truth behind it. Vince’s ratio of output to songs that I actually liked was dreadful, the kind of hit rate you might find from a out-of-form striker at a team in the bottom half of the Premier League and after a year of disappointing album after disappointing album from some of the greats in the game, I was not particularly interested in having more of my time wasted. However, you can probably tell from the fact that I am writing a review of this album that my curiosity got the better of me and I will hold my hands up and acknowledge: I was wrong about Vince Staples.

The flow of this album makes you forget that it is only twenty-two minutes as many of the songs seamlessly transition into the next. As the average length of each song is around two minutes long, the structure of the project allows us to become completely engrossed in the piece, taken aback by its excellence before Vince is onto something new, discarding the previous component like it’s yesterday’s news. The project sonically reads more like a story, changing from scene to scene without pauses, breaks or filler; even the skits fit in with the never-stopping journey as interludes from Earl Sweatshirt and Tyga get short cameos, as well as funny radio skits to introduce the next segment.

FM! is predominantly produced by Kenny Beats and its aural characteristics are fascinating in the context of Vince’s rap counterparts. Much of the production shares its personality with modern rap and trap, such as the punchy 808s, interesting sound design through the use of synths and eerie keys or strings. However, Vince sets himself apart from the mainstream by not feeling the need to include radio-friendly elements to make his music accessible to the average charts listener in his refusal to dumb down his work to the most basic of creative melodies and flows. The way he sees it, if you’re already at the point of putting his album on, you aren’t looking for the ignorance that appeases rap fans who love three-man Rap groups from Atlanta but have never heard Illmatic. Vince aims this album at those who actually appreciate how clever the entire piece is. The uniqueness of Vince’s nearly-trap sound hesitated me to place it in the genre, as it added so much more than trap records such as Culture or Astroworld. It had more of a je ne sais quoi about it; from one Vincent to another, FM! is a royale with cheese, trap with class if you will.

One of the main problems I have had with Vince over the years is his voice. I always found his tone excruciating, competing with Danny Brown over who’s tone could be the highest and most exacerbating. Vince’s use of his vocals on FM!, however, are fantastic, as he seems to adapt the timbre of his voice to fit the instrumentals more than I have ever noticed listening to his work. The problem hasn’t completely died, demonstrated by the start of his verse on ‘Outside!’ (although extra marks for sampling ‘Nyan Cat’ and turning it into this brilliant beat), but he is demonstrably more pleasant to listen to than I feel he has ever been before.

Vince’s lyrics match the persona of his instrumentals by exemplifying both fun, party vibes alongside meaningful, existential anxiety. ‘Feels Like Summer’ is a great example of this as Vince exhibits themes of enjoying summer in his hometown of Long Beach, California, whilst also being aware of the constant feeling and reality of danger that goes hand-in-hand with the season. There are elements of Gangster Rap throughout the album, which is understandable given how prevalent the sub-genre is in the culture of California and Vince’s gang history, demonstrated perfectly in ‘Don’t Get Chipped’ and ‘Relay’ as what seem to be a modern take on what his predecessors did so well. We get extremely personal on tracks such as ‘Tweakin’’ in which Vince, with the help of Kehlani, reflect on how death is such a monumental part of their lives; the beginning chorus line ‘we just lost somebody else this weekend’ is likely to reference Mac Miller, a good friend of both artists who may be paying homage to his GOOD A:M track ‘Weekend’, as well as his untimely death being on a Friday. Songs such as ‘Don’t Get Chipped’ and ‘No Bleedin’ score highly with me for its ability to produce a stank face, as well as the eeriness of ‘Relay’ that makes you feel as if you have been teleported to a late-night car drive around South-Central Los Angeles circa 1990, but the sinisterness of ‘Tweakin’’ and the excellent use of Kehlani’s vocals make it the standout track of the album for me. It has been a long time since I have heard a feature fit so effortlessly into the tone of not only the song but the entire project and helped elevated this album to the upper tier of rap albums.

One of my biggest fears as a Rap fanatic over the past few years is the inevitability that I will eventually like Vince Staples’ music. The non-stop bad mouthing to anyone who would listen was bound to come back to haunt me and I dreaded the embarrassment that was set to follow. Although I still hold some reservations of how Vince compares with the elite tier of Rap, this album has done more than enough to justify my rare confessions of erroneous judgement. I feel somewhat regretful that I allowed myself to be contradicted in such a deafening manner, but I have to give it to the man: this is a fantastic album and it deserves to be in contention as one of the greatest albums of the year.

Favourite tracks: ‘Tweakin’’ and ‘Relay’

Least favourite track: ‘Outside!’

8/10