Vince Staples

CTL-E-5265 · Person · musician · 1993–present

VERIFIED evidence grade of this record

Vince Staples (born Vincent Jamal Staples on July 2, 1993, in Compton, California) is an American rapper from the Ramona Park neighborhood of North Long Beach. He emerged through the Odd Future orbit and the 2013 mixtape Stolen Youth, produced by Mac Miller, signed with Def Jam, and broke through with the EP Hell Can Wait (2014) and his debut album Summertime '06 (2015), whose “Norf Norf” became a gold-certified signature. Big Fish Theory (2017) folded electronic and dance influences into his stark Long Beach storytelling, and FM! (2018), the self-titled Vince Staples (2021) and Ramona Park Broke My Heart (2022) followed; Dark Times (2024) closed his Def Jam tenure. AllMusic singles out his forward-thinking production choices and lyrical introspection as the marks of one of contemporary rap's most talented voices.

The record

• Also known as: Vincent Jamal Staples

Notes

Staged 2026-10-15 under CTL-GOV-006 (Next Slate C); Gate A clear (sweep confirms he is NOT Roebuck “Pops” Staples CTL-E-0350 or Mavis Staples CTL-E-0514 — distinct persons, no relation asserted); Gate B met (AllMusic biography + Last.fm artist biography + major-outlet reporting). Living artist: record confined to documented public-career facts per brief. CTL treatment: Cry Baby stands at No. 1 on CTL's Clear Ear Award album library slate (2026-10-05); named in 16 distinct CTL corpus files (19 mentions) per the 2026-10-15 corpus gap scan. Statistics carried: the gold certification of “Norf Norf” (AllMusic biography); album chart peaks located only in tertiary reproductions of reference data are NOT carried as statistics in this pass (see packet red team). Photo slot: CLEARED CANDIDATE — see packet §Photo Slots.

Sources

• AllMusic, “Vince Staples — Biography, Discography, Albums & Expert Reviews” — https://www.allmusic.com/artist/vince-staples-mn0002592118 (primary source)
• NME, “Vince Staples announces new album ‘Dark Times’” (May 2024; corroborating the Ramona Park Broke My Heart reception and the close of his Def Jam run, per Pitchfork reporting cited therein) — https://www.nme.com/news/music/vince-staples-announces-new-album-dark-times-shares-video-shame-on-the-devil-3757614
• Last.fm, “Vince Staples” artist biography (corroborating birth name and date, the Ramona Park, North Long Beach upbringing, and the Def Jam signing) — http://www.last.fm/music/Vince+Staples/Big+Fish+Theory

Record CTL-E-5265 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · evidence grade: VERIFIED · 3 sources (1 primary) · CTL research: PPL-001.
Directory: all entity records · the knowledge graph

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