The concept of political rap has always been a slippery fish. Even as hip hop first hit the mainstream, there was a myth perpetuated by well-meaning cheerleaders that it was a form of protest music first and for partying second – and this is an assumption that then metastasised into received opinion among critics and rock-centric audiences that worthy, angry rap was more authentic and had more value, than anything fun. This is, of course, patronising, silly, and a false dichotomy. It’s a distortion of an entire, vast, culture which has all too often led to mediocre talents (Michael Franti), showbiz confections (“This is America”), or absolute wronguns (Michael Franti again) getting lauded as Important and Real and inspiring untold Discourse at the expense of better work which was often more socially incisive but just didn’t deal in slogans.
Los Angeleno Vince Staples has always evaded easy definition. From 2010 he was an affiliate of the absurdist, outsider Odd Future collective that upset hip hop norms and made gigastars of Tyler, The Creator and Frank Ocean – but unlike his associates came from gang-dominated Compton and has always been adept at variously nihilistic or sorrowful explorations of the hardest realities of the narcotic, violent American dream. There was always social commentary embedded in that, and increasingly so lately – 2024’s Dark Times presents just the kind of thoughts the title suggest – but now he’s really gone for the capital-P Political album… and also, essentially, his first rock album.
The rock part is fantastic. It’s raw and wiry, full of fuzz bass, joining the dots from The White Stripes at their grooviest to The Beastie Boys at their mid 90s fusion-fuelled best. The politics is… rousing, but unsubtle. Where Staples’s previous work is woven with intensity and nuance and holds complicated ideas about greed, hope, violence, race and so much more, here it is a lot more “Cops are bad!” “Television tells you lies!” “Black men get stereotyped!” “America is complicated!” – subtext be damned. Which is fine, it works well with the punkiness of the sound, but it will be very interesting to see whether this gets treated with a new seriousness in certain quarters. The brilliance of this album is in Staples’s delivery and the confidence of his new sound. Here’s hoping audiences and critics take it as such – as a great new addition to a complicated catalogue and as a thrilling musical fusion – rather than as some political awakening or fuel for The Discourse.
Listen to "Blackberry Marmalade":
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