Vince Staples's Pygmalion Set 2016 Review

Vince Staples is a special kind of rapper. Staples’s words seem to flow out of his mouth like a waterfall, instantaneously filling the space, which his excellent, dark and airy instrumentals give him. As Earl Sweatshirt once said, “he says the most in the least amount of time.”Staples’s year-old Double EP, Summertime ’06 is a fantastic example of his skill set. Throughout the record, Staples bends his voice to create different characters for different moods. There’s the thinker, the dealer, the kid, and the lover to name a few. When he’s performing live, he’s all of those at once. He finds a way to be introspective and emotionless, funny and angry. The result is a gripping live show that demands your attention for each waking moment.Staples came out for his headline set at Pygmalion angry and brooding with some of his Summertime 06’ cuts “Lift Me Up” and “Jump of the Roof.” For a split second it seemed like Vince wouldn’t bring his signature energy to a college festival, but it didn’t take Vince long to be jumping around and thrashing his way through his suicidal and emotional hits.Staples’s anger and energy cooled as the festival went on, playing some of his more emotional and slow songs like “Summertime” to close the set. Staples played a nice mix of all of his records thus far, with songs from Hell Can Wait, Summertime ’06 and Primma Donna all getting some representation.While there were only a couple hundred or so students who ventured out to downtown Champaign on a Friday night, hardcore Vince fans happily joined him in his high energy performance. They were moshing to just about any song that had a beat, screaming out every hook and opening verse.Word’s don't do justice to the performance that Staples gave. In a time when hip hop has reached a state where rappers don’t even need to perform or really try at live shows, Staples gives it everything he has. Staples is the kind of rapper who leaves nothing on the table when he raps and his performances are a perfect example of continuity. He won’t get the critical acclaim of Kendrick Lamar or the radio play of Kanye West, but Staples is a top five rapper in the world, no matter the conversation and last Friday at Pygmalion was evidence of such.