The first episode of “The Vince Staples Show” is unsettling! California rapper Vince Staples has been teasing his upcoming project since last year. The first installment has finally arrived with the new single “So What?” dropping this past week. As one of the episodes of the rapper’s “all-new original series,” the video narrative gives fans a taste of the project while also stirring up curiosity.

The first episode presents itself in a seriocomical way. The story starts with a phone call about a commercial shoot invitation from the supposed representative of Malia Obama (daughter of Barack Obama). After accepting the invitation, the rapper enters the “Catch a Fade” barbershop to get a fresh performing-ready look; however, he has no idea that he is also now involved in a particularly dramatic situation. Pasadena street gangsters in the same barbershop are unmistakably not in a good mood when they see Staples. Quickly, a street fight spins breaks out in the store. Staples, who is “too hard to kill,” defeats the gangsters at the end of the fight, and the story ends up with him walking out of the shop victorious.

While the characters are bumping fists, “So What?” is making is playing. The distorted bass and heavy drums intensify the stress of the violence. Just as Staples is repeatedly singing, “why they hate on me?” the visuals echo as a perfect match of Staples’ frustrations. Maybe fans can expect more clues and answers in the next episode, but who knows?

The hilarious and well-placed colors of the video are already cemented in the first scene where Staples is reading the National Enquirer, which has a weird headline “Martians land in Beverly Hills.” But the humor is not everything. The song, in fact, delivers a pseudo-positive message: “This is for my fans who are suicidal (I love you so much)…Why kill yourself when you can go and kill a rival? (Why?)…Why hate yourself when you can hate the opposition? (Why?)…I do it by myself ’cause everybody snitching (I love you so much),” is sung by Staples.

Directed by Calmatic, who also worked with Staples for the video “FUN!” and the music video of the viral hit “Old Town Road,” the narrative showcases a distorted sense of creativity. The artistic vision and socially conscious rhymes behind the first episode of “The Vince Staple Show” are undoubtedly making waves. Listen to “So What?” HERE and check out the show below.

The Long Beach-based rapper has been delivering a pile of projects over the course of the year and has been establishing himself as one of the more prominent rappers in the game. While Staples’ 2017’ album Big Fish Theory was widely acclaimed, his latest album FM! , released in 2018, was even more fun. The original song that will accompany each episode of the new mini-series will be released as a stand-alone single. Based on that, it’s interesting to listen to Staples’ next project come together slowly.

Vince Staples will perform at the 2019 Adult Swim Festival, headlining with Young Thung and Tierra Whack. The hip-hop music festival takes place on November 15 and16 at the Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles. Check out the line-up HERE.

Photo credit: Raymond Flotat