Vince Staples Pays Homage To New Orleans Hip-Hop Culture On "Étouffée"

BYZachary Horvath1.7K Views
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On a dark album (no pun intended), Vince lets the sun shine through a bit.

Vince Staples made sure he went out with a bang before departing from Def Jam Recordings. The now developed Long Beach, California multi-hyphenate has come a long way since joining the label nearly 11 years ago. For him, Dark Times is essentially a culmination of all of the skills that he has now harnessed and honed in. It is a mixture of great storytelling, rapping, thematic execution, and production choices.

One track that sees Vince Staples deliver on all those fronts is "Étouffée." On this cut, the veteran uses this time to reflect on how far he has come from the Dark Times he went through growing up. Instead of getting really grim, Staples keeps it all the way 100 with the fans and people he proved wrong throughout his career. It is a fairly celebratory moment on the record and is a bit of a full circle moment.

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Listen To "Étouffée" By Vince Staples

"No love, I'ma sleep with my weapon / Porsche 911, slide through the section / Gotta show my homies I'm on now / Both soles on the ground, never sold out." While this is going on, Vince is showing love to the rap culture in the rich city of New Orleans. "Big timin', like them n****s in New Orleans / Grill shinin', like them n****s from Magnolia / Chopper City in the ghetto, I'm a soldier now." There is also a bright and fun beat switch at the end, which is clear nod to New Orleans bounce. Even though there are ton of great listens, "Étouffée" may be at the top.

What are your thoughts on "Étouffée" by Vince Staples? Is this the best track from Dark Times, why or why not? What is your favorite aspect of it? How would you rank all of his Def Jam releases? We would like to hear what you have to say, so be sure to leave your takes in the comments section. Additionally, always keep it locked in with HNHH for all of the latest news surrounding Vince Staples. Finally, stay with us for everything else going on in the music world.

Quotable Lyrics:

Dropped Big Fish, cuh been weak since (Cuh be trippin')
Damn, tell me how you really feel (That's how you feel?)
And, all I wantеd was a couple mill' (Okay)
Make the city proud (Hood)
Put it on 'forе them crackers come and tear it down
What are you about?

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About The Author
Zachary Horvath
Zachary Horvath is one of the Music Freelance News Writers at HotNewHipHop and has held that title since August 2023. Prior to this position, he held another freelance gig covering local high school football, girls and boys varsity basketball, in addition to recapping Cleveland Cavaliers games remotely. He's taken the previous experience and used it to become a jack of all trades at HotNewHipHop. Zach has thoroughly enjoyed tackling some of the trending topics in sports, with a larger focus on hip-hop and pop culture. Some of those include Bronny James's draft stock, a multitude of angles swirling around the Drake and Kendrick Lamar beef, as well as Diddy's arrest and lawsuits. Separate from the headlines that everyone wants to hear about, he was fortunate enough to help spread Zaytoven's current thoughts at the time around mid-December in 2023. Even though being able to give his expertise on these stories is fulfilling, being able to share his passion for releases trumps that ever so slightly. Having the chance to express his excitement indirectly about what he thinks our readers should be checking out/revisiting grows his passion for writing that much more.
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