Dark Times (album)

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Dark Times
Studio album by
Vince Staples
ReleasedMay 24, 2024 (2024-05-24)
GenreWest Coast hip hop
Length35:00
Label
Producer
Vince Staples chronology
Ramona Park Broke My Heart
(2022) 		Dark Times
(2024)
Singles from Dark Times
  1. "Shame on the Devil"
    Released: May 20, 2024

Dark Times is the sixth studio album by American rapper Vince Staples. It was released on May 24, 2024, through Blacksmith Records and Def Jam Recordings, and is his final release with the latter label after more than 10 years.

Background[edit]

Vince Staples was discovered by Dijon "LaVish" Samo and Chuck Wun, alongside his cousin Campbell Emerson. LaVish took Staples on a trip to Los Angeles, where he befriended the Odd Future collective's members Syd tha Kyd, Mike G, and Earl Sweatshirt. Although he had not intended to become a rapper, he made some guest appearances on their songs, most notably "epaR" from Earl Sweatshirt's March 2010 mixtape Earl. Staples released his official debut mixtape Shyne Coldchain Vol. 1 on December 30, 2011, via applebird.com;[1] and also released a collaborative mixtape with producer Michael Uzowuru, titled Winter in Prague in October 2012.[2] After making three appearances on Earl's debut studio album Doris the next year, including the single "Hive", the liner notes revealed Staples had recently signed to the hip hop record label Def Jam Recordings, falling under producer No I.D.'s ARTium imprint, as well as Blacksmith Records.[2] The mixtape Shyne Coldchain II was released on March 13, 2014, seven months after the signing was revealed.

After releasing his first three albums Summertime '06, Big Fish Theory and FM! on Def Jam, Staples signed a new deal with the Motown record label, releasing his eponymous fourth album and Ramona Park Broke My Heart respectively in 2021 and 2022. In March 2024, Staples announced a European tour called Black in Europa, which would be scheduled to kick off in June in Cologne.[3] When interviewed by radio DJ Big Boy the next month, Staples revealed that he would release a new album before his tour.[4]

On May 19, 2024, Staples announced the album's title, cover and tracklist via X and Instagram, while also prewiring a snippet of the lead single "Shame on the Devil", which would be released the following day, with vocals from Baby Rose.[5]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic79/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
Clash8/10[6]
Rolling Stone[7]

Dark Times was met with favorable reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 79, based on four reviews.[8]

Track listing[edit]

Dark Times track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Close Your Eyes and Swing"
  • Brazzen
  • Taylor
  • Page
0:31
2."Black&Blue"
3:18
3."Government Cheese"
Taylor2:45
4."Children's Song"
  • Staples
  • Mino Drerup
  • Afolabi Osinulu
  • Page
  • Taylor
  • Uzowuru
  • Uzowuru
  • Saint Mino
  • Teej
  • Taylor[a]
  • Page[a]
2:12
5."Shame on the Devil"
  • Staples
  • Drerup
  • Joe Harrison
  • Page
  • Uzowuru
  • Saint Mino
  • Page[p]
  • Harrison
  • Uzowuru
3:25
6."Étouffée"
4:28
7."Liars"
  • Staples
  • James Baldwin
  • Silverglade
  • Darian Thomas
  • Kiah Victoria
Rahm0:57
8."Justin"StaplesTaylor2:04
9."Radio"
2:56
10."Nothing Matters"
  • Staples
  • Page
  • Taylor
  • Uzowuru
2:42
11."Little Homies"
  • Staples
  • Kaelin Ellis
  • Taylor
3:44
12."Freeman"
  • Staples
  • Drerup
  • Courageous Herrera
  • Michna
  • Taylor
  • Zachary Sekoff
  • Manny Solas
  • Taylor
  • Uzowuru
  • Michna
  • Uzowuru
  • Saint Mino
  • Xavi
  • Taylor[a]
  • Sekoff[a]
2:34
13."Why Won't the Sun Come Out?"
  • Staples
  • Benjamin Bock
  • Laven
  • Page
  • Julian Ali Rapaport
  • Ely Weisfeld
3:24
Total length:35:00

Notes

  • ^[p] signifies a primary and vocal producer
  • ^[a] signifies an additional producer
  • ^[v] signifies a vocal producer

Personnel[edit]

Musicians[edit]

  • Vince Staples – vocals (all tracks), vibraphone (track 10)
  • LeKen Taylor – keyboards, percussion programming (tracks 1, 3, 8, 10, 11); drums (1, 3, 10); bass, percussion (1); piano (10), synth bass (11)
  • Tyler Page – keyboards (tracks 1, 5, 9), programming (4), vibraphone (10)
  • Carissa Murray – background vocals (track 1)
  • Brazzen – keyboards, programming, sound effects (track 1)
  • Rahm Silverglade – keyboards (tracks 2, 7), synthesizer (2); bass, percussion, programming (7)
  • Corey Smyth – background vocals (track 2)
  • Alex Goose – programming (2)
  • Teej – guitar, keyboards, percussion (track 4)
  • Samuel Ivoko – background vocals (track 5), additional vocals (6)
  • Saint Mino – keyboards (tracks 5, 12)
  • Baby Rose – additional vocals (track 5)
  • Maria Zardoya – additional vocals (track 5)
  • Joe Harrison – bass, guitar (track 5)
  • Donald Robertson – speaker (track 6)
  • Kiah Victoria – background vocals (track 7)
  • Darian Thomas – strings (track 7)
  • Cardo – drums, programming (track 9)
  • J.LBS – keyboards, programming (track 9)
  • Maddy Davis – additional vocals (track 10)
  • Alexandra Taylor Diaz – additional vocals (track 11)
  • Ivan Hicks – additional vocals (track 11)
  • Kilo Kish – additional vocals (track 11)
  • Tasia Flores-Woods – additional vocals (track 11)
  • Matty Michna – background vocals, bass, guitar (track 12)
  • Xavi – drums (track 12)
  • Zachary Sekoff – keyboards (track 12)
  • Santigold – additional vocals (track 13)
  • Benny Bock – bass, keyboards, programming (track 13)
  • Julian Ali Rapaport – bass, keyboards, programming (track 13)
  • Caleb Laven – keyboards, synthesizer programming (track 13)
  • Ely Rise – piano (track 13)

Technical[edit]

  • Mike Bozzi – mastering (1–
  • Joe Visciano – mixing (1–
  • Tyler Page – engineering (tracks 1–6, 8–13), recording arrangement (5, 10, 13)
  • Sean Matsukawa – engineering (tracks 5, 10, 13)
  • Rahm Silverglade – engineering (track 7)
  • J. Rocc – engineering (track 9)
  • Caleb Laven – engineering (tracks 9, 10, 13)
  • Michael Uzowuru – recording arrangement (track 5)

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Vince Staples". Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Vince Staples Def Jam Signing". Complex l. August 31, 2013. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
  3. ^ Mendez, Marisa. "Vince Staples Set to Take On Europe in First Headlining Tour in 5 Years". HipHopDX. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  4. ^ Hawkins, Ruth. "Vince Staples Gives Promising Update On New Album: "I'm Close"". HipHopDX. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  5. ^ "Vince Staples announces new album". Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  6. ^ Murray, Robin (May 24, 2024). "Vince Staples – Dark Times". Clash. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  7. ^ Jarvis, Shaniqwa (May 24, 2024). "Vince Staples Shows a Softer Side on 'Dark Times'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Dark Times by Vince Staples Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved May 25, 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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