Photo by Erik Carter

In mainstream rap’s wavering sea of consistency, there are few other voices you can count on out there who remain constant whenever Kendrick isn’t tied up in beef or in hermit mode, beyond that of one Vince Staples. Staples is just out there doing his own thing and minding his own damn business of whatever’s distracting his peers’ attention from throwing down honest to goodness bangers like “Little Homies”, a highlight from the Long Beach rapper’s newest album, Dark Times. Talking songs of the summer, this one’s got all of the juice without needing any of the drama to squeeze to make it go hard of say, a “Not Like Us”. The track rides a wave over a neon club pulse produced by LeKen Taylor and Kaelin Ellis that runs through your system with a sizzle and ice cool, reuniting Staples’ grit with the ethereal of his Summertime ’06 collaborator, Kilo Kish. Staples drops bars in classic form, spitting truths on success and the streets with the finesse of a veteran who’s been there and done that when giving a pep talk to his younger self. “Concrete where the rose blossom / Life hard, but I go harder,” he rhymes in its hook. It’s that focus which continues to make him a stone cold thriller.

Vince Staples’ Dark Times is available now on Blacksmith / Def Jam.