Jake Cochrane

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! 🧵