Vince Staples talks ‘Dark Times,’ says he was “honestly surprised” by reaction to ‘The Vince Staples Show’

Vince Staples was a teenager when he was signed to Def Jam, but now he’s readying his exit from the label. He’s released Dark Times, his final album under the label and a reflection of his current place in life.

“I’m 31 by the end of this year, and that’s a big difference from being 17 years old, releasing music for the first time,” he tells Rolling Stone. “So, if I’m speaking about my life, I want to make sure that I’m retracing my steps and knowing where I came from in a certain regard.”

Vince isn’t sure what’s after Def Jam. “I haven’t really got to that part of the bridge yet. Music is music, and we’re in a new time as far as how these things are approached. I’m not rushing to go into any new contracts or anything like that,” he says. “But, I was given an opportunity as a teenager by Def Jam and Universal, so I’m very appreciative of that.”

He’s also waiting to hear about the future of Netflix’s The Vince Staples Show. “I’m grateful. I got to do something that isn’t really done on that network, or just done in general, with trying to break format and conventional comedy. I’m just trying some new things. So, I’m very happy that people embraced it, and we’ll see how they feel about it moving forward,” Vince says. “We’re still trying to see what’s going to happen with that.”

Noting he doesn’t “really make things that people [enjoy] like that,” Vince says he was “honestly surprised by the way that it was received.”

“I just feel like this show went very well, and especially for first-time writing, first-time producing, first-time starring in all of these things, I’m grateful for that,” he adds.

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