Vince Staples - Ramona Park Broke My Heart Review

Sparks and Nostalgia

Vince Staples stands in an interesting place in the hip-hop world of today. Often on the edge of the more experimental and alternative areas of the genre while keeping his perspectives and lyrics honest and perceptible. He keeps those tendencies in his new release ‘Ramona Park Broke My Heart’, driving through a sound scape that is nostalgic and moody while lyrically exploring the duality of a life lived fast and loose.

Starting out the album we have the brief ‘The Beach’ which starts with sounds of the ocean waves morphing into a cheering crowd before an organ riff with a climbing bass line kicks in. It's a solid up-tempo beat that sets the mood for the rest of the record before ending with a series of gunshots and silence. The stark conclusion bringing to mind the precarious position of a life lived gang banging and transitioning into the smooth ambience of ‘Aye!'(Free the Homies).’ It’s finger-snapped beat over a dreamy guitar riff reminded me of something from ‘Good Day’ era Ice Cube and its group sung chorus gives us the first in a series of memorable choruses.

Trophy in the hood, ayy
Wish a nigga would, ayy
Got my weight up (My weight up)
Now I'm feelin' good, ayy (Feelin' good tonight, yeah)
Now a nigga on, ayy (Feelin' on tonight)
I done came a long way
If I had one wish, (Free the homies)
I'd free the homies

‘Magic’ (featuring guest production by Mustard) is another stand out track with a bouncing funked-up bass line reminiscent of best G-funk rap of the 90’s. Lyrically we get our first peak into the almost romantic relationship he has with various aspects of living in Ramona Park that we return to over the length of the album.

Feeling like I'm floating to the ceiling, is it magic?
Baby, tell me why you disappearin', this is magic
I won't ever tell 'em how I did it, it was magic
Can you imagine?

This relationship gets fully fleshed out in the sober love song ‘When Sparks Fly.’ Habitually, I used to absolutely hate whenever rappers would sneak in a love song in the middle of an album of bangers. Recently, however, I’ve changed my tune with artists like Tyler the Creator adding a new level of nuance and complication to the typical love song. ‘When Sparks Fly’ fortunately takes the love song style to fascinating level singing not to a person but a gun that gets taken away from him. The sorrowful chorus, a slowed down sample of Lyves ‘No Love’ adds a mournful layer to the echoey percussion and brings this track to a level above other similar love jams.

‘Papercuts’ is another standout track that starts with a folksy hook by Hether before the beat kicks in and Vince raps about the papercuts received from counting the stacks of money. The folksy guitar blends in really well especially when the chorus hits. This track is followed by another banger, ‘Lemonade,’ which features a nice vocal guest performance by Ty Dolla $ign. The summer vibe of this track is undeniable and irresistible.

Feelin’ like ice cold lemonade (Lemonade)
Nowhere to go when we in the shade (In the shade)
Nowhere to go when we in a cage
Sometimes life tastes bittersweet

Though this album is full of solid tracks it does meander a little with ‘East Point Prayer.’ There’s nothing inherently wrong with this track but when it’s surrounded by the heavy hitters before and after it just seems to have a little less focus than and the feature by Lil Baby doesn’t seem as coherent. Fortunately, it's only one lesser moment in a batch of gold.

The end of this album is so strong it’s very easy to forgive it of any missteps that may have popped up along the way. Starting with the audio clip of Kody Scott, a former gang-banger turned motivational speaker, speaking of breaking free of the gang-to-prison pipeline, and leading right into ‘Rose Street’ which is another ‘on-repeat’ album highlight. Vince fully spelling out the album’s themes with lines like ‘She says that she’s in love, what’s that?’ and ‘I’m only bringing flowers to the Homies grave.’ He’s boisterous and confident even while he’s brushing off his love interest for the riskier life.

Finally we end with ‘The Blues’ where we get to see behind all the posturing and papercuts. A bluesy guitar and downbeat vocal delivery by Vince seal the sadness that was creeping beneath the surface all through the album.

If I die on the way to give you my love
Please, protect me from the world
Forgive me for what I've done
This shit harder than I make it look, what have I become?
I ain't never been no open book
Money made me numb

It’s tracks like this juxtaposed with banging tracks like ‘Rose Street’ that really set Vince aside from other artists, as he isn’t afraid of self-examination and reflection. It’s one of the many things that makes him one of the best artists working today. Few rappers would be willing to speak so clearly and confidently on things that someone else might be ashamed of. He’s not afraid to brag in one verse and then admit how hollow and empty he feels the next.

At first listen I didn’t think this was as bold as some of his previous releases (last year’s self-titled release among them) but the more I listened and the albim unfolded, I realized its only hard for me to say that this is Vince Staples best album because all of his work is so strong. This is not only one of his best albums but one of the best releases of the year.