Every month I'll be picking the best rap verse. We were ranking the top five for a while but instead decided to go with something more definitive. June's pick is the first verse from Vince Staple's "Lift Me Up." It's the first track on his stellar debut, Summertime '06. I almost went with one of his verses on "Senorita," however, I felt like these bars had more impact in terms of subject matter. I will not be annotating these lyrics, I promise you. That's what Genius is for.
"I'm just a nigga until I fill my pockets
And then I'm Mr. Nigga, they follow me while shoppin'
I feel like Mick and Richards, they feel like Muddy Waters
So tell me what's the difference, so tell me what's the difference?
My momma was a Christian, Crip walkin' on blue water
Was fadin' up in Davis, then walkin' back to Palmer
A 'fro like Huey partner, Auntie Angie had them choppers
So tell me what's the difference, so tell me what's the difference?
I feel like 'Fuck Versace,' they rapin' nigga's pockets
And we don't get acknowledged, just thank me for the profit
A prophet just like Moses, if Moses look like Shaka
Zulu, my .44 loaded, I'm aimin' at nirvana
My bitch look like Madonna, they starin' at katana
Waiter still ain't brought the chopsticks, should have brought the chopper
Uber driver in the cockpit look like Jeffrey Dahmer
But he lookin' at me crazy when we pull up to the projects"
Vince Staples amazes me every time he opens his mouth. The 21-year-old Long Beach, Calif., native surprised me again with the release of Summertime '06. The album's first two lines are:
"I'm just a nigga until I fill my pocket/And then I'm Mr. Nigga, they follow me while shoppin'."
A rapper like Vince blowing up is important. His bars are always meticulous, filled with dark humor, and he has a keen sense of awareness that's very rare for someone his age. The life he led before he found rap could be to blame. Growing up in crime-riddled streets makes one older than they actually are. You're forced to become an adult at an early age. Death, addiction, and poverty is a way of life. Just in the first verse of "Lift Me Up" he touches on topics ranging from the Black Panthers to the influence Muddy Waters had on the Rolling Stones to racism in retail. He's not playing around with y'all.
Angel Diaz is a staff writer for Complex Media. Follow him @ADiaz456.
