Vince Staples

Rap artist Vince Staples didn't always plan on pursuing music. The Long Beach native enjoyed the music of Li'l Bow Wow during his childhood and adolescence, but he spent most of youth distracted by the challenges of life in a tough neighborhood. The youngest of five children, Staples was often left on his own while his father was incarcerated and his mother worked long hours to make ends meet. He got involved in gang activity and was headed down a dangerous path when a chance friendship pointed him in a new direction. Staples began hanging out with Syd tha Kyd, Earl Sweatshirt, and Mike G during the late-2000's. Eventually, he ended up performing on some of his friends' tracks and through their encouragement, began putting together his own mixtapes. His first, Shyne Coldchain Vol. 1, came out in 2011. He followed this with a collaborative mixtape with Michael Uzowuru, Winter In Prague. Next came Stolen Youth, released under the alias Larry Fisherman in 2013 and Shyne Coldchain Vol. 2 in 2014. Finally in 2015, Staples released his first album, Summertime '06.