Vince Staples - "Cry Baby"'
- Miss JLH
- 12 hours ago
- 4 min read
Released July 21, 2026, Vince Staples brings his second Tiny Desk performance to NPR to set the tone for his upcoming North American Fall Tour. The setlist consisted of five songs, four of them from his latest project Crybaby, released on June 5, 2026: ‘Blackberry Marmalade’, ‘Go! Go! Gorilla’, ‘White Flag’ and ‘Only in America’. The fifth song performed, ‘Shame on the Devil ’, was a track from his 2024 album Dark Times. There was something about this performance that was so mesmerizing it left my mouth agape. From the song selection, to the youthful band members, down to Vince Staples impassive but emotionally calm awareness of the world around him.
For day-one Vince Staples fans, the lyrics and the somber mood of the performance made sense. For those just tuning in to the rapper, it may have come off as him having an “attitude,” being “angry,” or maybe even a little “ungrateful.” But after looking back at the performance a second time, it feels like that was somewhat the point. Shouldn't we all be pissed off and sick of everything?
Crybaby is Vince Staples' 7th studio album. With hip-hop/rock-infused sounds, the album explores themes of race, injustices in the American system, and media control. And while the album cover looks as if it depicts our current clown in office, Vince himself has stated that it represents all of us within this sociopolitical system, in which we complain about everything but do nothing about it. The album addresses how we all continue to feed the beast and operate within the system we are consistently complaining about. This is not Vince’s first time speaking on these issues through the music, and like many Black Artists before him, this isn’t the first time we have heard these messages dolled up with funky beats to move and groove to, making you miss the message embedded within the lyrics. Which helps me understand the nature of his less than sunny disposition within this performance.
Vince Staples opened the performance with his arms crossed as if he were in a straitjacket, as if to signal that he feels caged up or even crazy for taking part in yet another piece of this system. With a stone-faced expression he begins with his first released single ‘Black Marmalade’. This track goes into depth with racism, the exploitation of Black culture, and the threat of being killed in your everyday life. As we get to the end of the track where Vince Staples repetitively recites the N-word, you hear him say “It’s ok you can say it,” slyly speaking to his majority white audience as his Black bandmates are the only ones who continue to recite the word with him.
The performance carries on with another high-energy track from the latest album, 'Go! Go! Gorilla'. Vince stoically recites every line with perfection, not giving us much energy to match the beat of the lyrics, while his bandmates, young performing artists, Jennifer Haack: guitar, background vocals, Mikaiah Lei: guitar, background vocals, Chloe Haack: bass, background vocals, and Myles Martin: drums, background vocals, give all the energy of establishing musicians just happy to be there!
The band proceeds to play, as Vince takes a moment to ask the crowd to raise their hands if anyone knows about slain Black Panther members, Bobby Hutton, George Jackson, Frank Diggs, and 15-year-old Larry Kimmon, adding to the somber mood of the performance. The room was silent and it seemingly looked as If no one knew of the names mentioned; Vince nonchalantly just moves on by saying "Just asking."
'White Flag', the second single from the album, is the next song performed. After the performance, Vince explains that the video concepts for 'White Flag' and 'Black Marmalade' are interpreted differently, and the irony of it all. He then goes straight into performing 'Shame on the Devil' and ends it all with 'Only in America.'
To perform for NPR’s Tiny Desk has become some symbol/status lately, so I love the way Vince Staples performs at what is viewed as such a privileged level with the energy of “Nigga ain't shit sweet, but if this is what we all doin’ then fuck it” Adding bandmates who are seemingly younger than the West Coast rapper only adds to the message; I mean, Whitney Houston did say the children were the future right? And yet at this rate, it seems like there's not much of a future they have to look forward to, yet here we all are, still complaining and participating. Vince also dons a hat with his show's logo, “The Vince Staples Show,” which had been canceled by Netflix after just 2 seasons this year. Not saying that meant something specific but who knows, maybe it did. Hip-Hop over the years has Increasingly become one of the top genres in the world crossing racial barriers more than it has with its past predecessors and becoming a huge stake in the selling of Black culture. While our presence in other creative avenues such as dance, television, movies and more continue to lose funding and dare I say, In such a way that makes us invisible in spreading our stories the way we see it.
And who knows, maybe I am reading into his performance too much, but to perform in such a manner after releasing such an epic, thought-provoking project, it’s hard for me not to notice the symbolism that may exist here. Artists, especially Black Artists have always been known for having messages within our art/music. It was something about the quiet parts on full display, so loudly echoing in the ears of those willing to receive, repeating: “Same shit, different day.”
And if you have yet to listen to his latest album, I also highly suggest it:
If you haven’t seen the latest Tiny Desk performance from Vince Staples, I highly suggest it:
Last but not least, follow Vince for dates surrounding his North American tour, which kicks off this Fall in Atlanta:
Ring off in the comments, did you watch the latest Tiny Desk Performance from Vince Staples? and if so, what did you think?
Comments