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Jul 7, 2026This is chocolate covered medicine and I enjoyed the taste.
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Jun 19, 2026Staples is fearless and confident on Cry Baby, one of his absolute best -- and most important -- works.
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Jun 17, 2026Superficially, the high-tempo jams drip with fun, but Staples isn’t here to party: alternating between rage (“Blackberry Marmalade”) and fatigue (“White Flag”), with a side of dark humour, his verses skewer societal injustices in modern America. It’s a sharp polemic, flawlessly delivered, that never feels preachy, exaggerated, or unreasonable.
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Jun 15, 2026Over 35 adrenalized minutes, Vince Staples comments on the injustices and genocidal tendencies baked into the US’s DNA, striking a balance between satire, rant, and keen attunement to the tragic.
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Jun 9, 2026Big swings, of course, can result in occasional misses. But those missteps don’t outweigh the satisfaction of seeing an artist of Staples’ reach meeting the moment head-on.
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Jun 9, 2026Staples' devilish hymns from the depths make Cry Baby his most focused and concentrated work in recent memory. Not one to miss as the uncomfortable truths ring out like war cries. Outstanding.
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Jun 8, 2026It’s faster, louder, and brasher than anything he’s done since Big Fish Theory and even Big Fish Theory itself, with all its SOPHIE-produced clamour. He’s still a pointed rapper, though, relying less on personal anecdotes than concise socioeconomic analyses.
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Jun 5, 2026This may be something different than what fans wanted or expected, but it's a project full of things that undoubtedly need to be said and heard.
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Jun 5, 2026The artist proves once again that his evolution is limitless and his wisdom is otherworldly. .... These ten songs push Staples into another level of conceptual storytelling.
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Jun 5, 2026Refusing to accept easy answers, the West Coast rapper demands a lot of himself, and his audience – for those willing to spend time with it, ‘Cry Baby’ is a uniquely thrilling experience.
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Jun 5, 2026If Cry Baby doesn't reach the levels of Big Fish Theory or Ramona Park, it's another string to Staples' bow and then some. The new approach feels fresh and revitalising, without toning down the artist's gift for fiery rhetoric.
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Jun 5, 2026When it comes to documenting and assessing calamity, Vince Staples is one of the most adept rappers we have. He understands that in radical times, the best way to present a message is to find common ground, even when the landscape is uneven. .... You don’t need faith to believe in Staples’ revolution.
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Jun 5, 2026The album shows a fresh side to Vince Staples, and the prospect of him building on its piercing, riotous political gaze is extremely enticing.
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Jun 5, 2026Staples raps (and occasionally sings) over standard rock instrumentation of guitar, bass, and live drums, a noted departure from his previous albums’ beat-centric production. It’s a novel and compelling artistic shift, one that keeps his raps fresh while demonstrating that he’s still among hip-hop’s best orators.