Vince Staples is the latest rapper to hop on Genius and annotate some songs. He starts with Sean Paul’s “Gimme The Light” and Fetty Wap’s “My Way.” The rapper is impressed with Paul’s simplicity. “It’s just one verse on ‘Gimme the Light’ and the song is five minutes! Just one verse. That’s my shit.” And while Staples’ Summertime ‘06 is a spare album that makes no concessions to radio, the MC loves Fetty Wap's latest hit, writing enthusiastically, “This guy is Luther Vandross!”
When annotating his own lyrics, Staples generally focuses on lines that allude to grand themes. Writing about “Senorita,” he poses a question: “When it’s all said and done, what’s the story?... Jesus has the biggest story. That’s what really matters! Michael Jackson’s story is that he is the greatest ever. It’s not, ‘Oh the nigga from “Billie Jean”.’”
Staples fans can also pick up some interesting biographical information from the rapper's writings on Genius. For example: Staples has serious math skills. “I went to the Math Olympics from sixth through eighth grade,” he writes. “I never placed but it doesn’t matter. I was there.”
Read the rest of his annotations here, and check out the MC’s FADER interview.
