CRY BABY is built on a contradiction Vince Staples understands better than most. It paints a grounded picture of fear, systemic failure, and survival in a country still selling dreams it was never designed to deliver for everyone, yet it never feels crushed under that weight. Vince has always been exceptionally talented at making hell sound like heaven, and that quality is the reason this album works as well as it does!
His previous work found Staples turning inward across the self-titled 2021 record, Ramona Park Broke My Heart, and Dark Times. CRY BABY is a deliberate turn outward. Built around the scuzzy sounds of noise rock and post-punk, its ten tracks use the well-worn touchstones of Americana to turn the American dream inside out, and the album cover announces all of this before a single note plays. A blond-haired baby in a US flag diaper, a provocation that sets the tone for everything that follows!
What separates this record from anything else in his catalog is how completely the sound serves the subject. Staples built each track around live instrumentation, and hints of funk, post-grunge, punk, and disco surface across the ten tracks without any of it feeling like genre tourism. The music carries the same unease found in the writing, giving CRY BABY a friction that never lets up!
He stated his purpose plainly before the record dropped: “It is my unwavering belief that it is the artists’ duty to burden themselves with the weight of the world. We have been blessed with a lens that unveils the truth, and in respect of that blessing, we must look through it and never turn away. So as the world burns, I have decided to release this album.” CRY BABY delivers on that without ever becoming a lecture. The melodies linger, the hooks stick, and the energy keeps pulling you back even as the album confronts things most people would rather not look at directly. Seven albums deep, and this is the most he has ever asked of both himself and the listener!
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🚨 𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚: The United States has denied entry to Iraq's official photographer for the World Cup.
He was detained for at least 12 hours and in the end was sent back to his country.
— @Romain_Molina
The World Cup is definitely better off for having Haiti, Cape Verde, Iran, Iraq and Jordan instead of Italy and Hungary
Classic games every night in June …..
Hard truth…
I can speak freely because I’m 65 years old and my pocketful of fucks is seriously depleted.
Working as a paralegal at various studios in LA for thirty years…I had the opportunity to observe studio executives closely.
They’re generally a slippery and clueless bunch who shouldn’t be allowed near anything remotely creative…but the new regime at Paramount is straight up evil.
I assure you.
These soulless bastards have nothing but contempt for a show about grace and redemption and the struggle against fascism.
ATLA is a mystery to them.
They. Do. Not. Value. The. Franchise.
That Euro 2021 France team is probably the most ethical sports team in human history
Mbappe, Benzema, Pogba Griezmann…
Switzerland will actually always have a opp in me man