Vince Staples has lined up a new album for June 5. Presented as the start of a more independent era, Cry Baby is Staples’ debut for Loma Vista and will be released in partnership with the rapper’s own label, Section Eight Arthouse. “As the world burns, I have decided to release this album,” he said in a statement.
The lead single, “Blackberry Marmalade,” came out Sunday with a first-person shooter-style video co-directed by Staples and Bradley J. Calder. Watch that below—though, as Staples noted, “YouTube has age-restricted the Blackberry Marmalade video, so if you are over the age of 18, make sure to share it with the youth around you. Our children deserve the truth.”
The album, which was built around live instrumentation, also heralds Staples’ new era as one of newfound autonomy. Staples’ signing to Loma Vista—which is part of Concord Music Group—follows a series of releases that were mostly in partnership with Def Jam and Blacksmith, the label co-founded by Talib Kweli. Staple’s last LP, Dark Times, came out in 2024.
Revisit Alphonse Pierre’s column Vince Staples Turns Rap Stardom Anxieties Into Comedy on The Vince Staples Show.
Cry Baby:
01 Blackberry Marmalade
02 Go! Go! Gorilla
03 White Flag
04 The Running Man
05 TV Guide
06 The Big Bad Wolf
07 Only in America
08 Do You Know the Devil
09 Cotton
10 7 in the Morning