“Dark Times” by Vince Staples Album Review
Vince adds another outstanding album to an already stacked discography
Look, I know I haven’t been very active the past month or so. I was finishing up the school year and recently moved into an apartment, so honestly I’m lucky that I wrote anything at all in May. I got the most reads last month than I did in the previous months, which is kind of funny to me seeing as I only wrote one article. But hey, the people really like that Playboi Carti article from January.
I also know that I made a Vince Staples appreciation post on my Instagram (@michaelherberswriting) in honor of Dark Times releasing and have been radio silent about it since then. This doesn’t mean that I haven’t been paying attention, though; I’ve listened to this album five or six times already. I just haven’t gotten around to making the review. That ends today. Just like Vince Staples recently ended his output drought, so am I. Without further adieu, let’s get into this record.
I want to start by saying that this album wasn’t at all what I had expected a new Vince Staples album might sound like. The West-coast themes of 2022’s phenomenal Ramona Park Broke My Heart and his bar-heavy features on Tyler, the Creator’s The Estate Sale deluxe and Earl Sweatshirt and The Alchemist’s Voir Dire made me think that Vince’s next album would be somewhere in that field. Instead, Vince surprised me and upgraded and expanded upon the musical and lyrical themes that he delivered back in 2021 with his self-titled project. And honestly, it made for what might be his best album ever.
What Dark Times does so well is that so many of the songs are catchy and lush, but when you start to peel back the layers a little bit, you begin to understand how personal and emotional this album is for Vince. Four lines into the album’s second track, “Black&Blue,” he mentions that he’s dealing with depression. In the second verse of the song, he wrestles with loved ones he’s lost and wonders where people like 2Pac, Nipsey Hussle, Drakeo the Ruler, and ultimately Vince himself go when they die. He’s touching on serious subject matter but pairs it with strong, full production and a catchy hook. It does a great job of capturing Vince’s thoughts about how he and others perceive his outward appearance and persona and how it is completely different than what he is dealing with emotionally.
Another song that does this masterfully is the third track, titled “Government Cheese.” Laid-back and catchy production, paired with a hook that could normally be interpreted to be inspiring, this song is even more bleak than “Black&Blue.” Once again touching upon mortality, Vince also raps about the inevitable death of your inner child and how he’s living his dream while those closest to him are struggling. His storytelling on the second verse is on point, and the listener can imagine being in Vince’s shoes and having to basically lie to his friend about how his life is going. We’re early into the album and already we’re seeing Vince Staples continue to evolve his craft.
Vince displays his storytelling capabilities once again on the cut “Justin,” which follows the conversation interlude “Liars.” Reminiscent of something like Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend,” we hear Vince detail how he fell in love with this woman and might have found a source of genuine connection (something that he feels he severely lacks, heard on tracks like “Nothing Matters” and “Shame on the Devil”) only for her boyfriend to come home and for Vince to be introduced as her little cousin, Justin. This song is executed perfectly and the abrupt rug pull at the end seamlessly emulates what Vince was experiencing in the song.
With every track on Dark Times, Vince adds another facet of his struggling inner self and another layer to his depression. This album is filled with regret, mournful reminiscing, anger, pain, contemplation of the meaning of life, and the longing for a meaningful connection that makes life worth living. The song that might do the best job of capturing the essence of Dark Times is aptly titled “Nothing Matters.” On the chorus, Vince asks why someone would say that they love him if they don’t mean it, and then matter-of-factly states several times that “nothing really matters at all.” He then goes on to drop what is maybe the most soul-crushing line on the whole album in the second verse:
“Who told the lie and said that life was short?” — Nothing Matters
That one line says so much in just one sentence and is a great example of what Vince pulls off with Dark Times. Despite only being 13 tracks and clocking in at around 35 minutes, he gets so much about himself across and the listener feels the weight of all the topics he’s dealing with. Filled with catchy and potent tracks like “Black&Blue,” “Étouffée,” and “Little Homies,” Dark Times is one of the most raw albums I’ve heard in a while. I appreciate that I can still enjoy the album and marvel at its greatness even if I’m not feeling down or going through a difficult time in my life.
Tragically emotional, Dark Times encapsulates its name, keeps a short, concise theme, and is effective in getting its point across. It’s hard to fully describe with words all of the precise feelings and thoughts that Vince provokes with his new album; that’s how blown away I am by this project. This is the best album of the year so far and might just be his best album ever.
Favorite Tracks: Black&Blue, Government Cheese, Shame On The Devil, Étouffée, Nothing Matters, Little Homies
Least Favorite Tracks: None
Overall Rating: 9.5/10
