Vincent Jamal Staples (born July 2, 1993) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and actor.^[3] He is a member of the hip hop trio Cutthroat Boyz alongside fellow Californian rappers Aston Matthews and Joey Fatts. Staples was once a close associate of Odd Future, in particular Mike G and Earl Sweatshirt. He is currently signed to Motown Records and Blacksmith Records.

Staples rose to prominence with appearances on albums by Odd Future members and his collaborative mixtape titled Stolen Youth with Mac Miller, who produced the project. In October 2014, he released his debut EP Hell Can Wait, which included the singles "Hands Up" and "Blue Suede". His debut album, Summertime '06, was released on June 30, 2015, to critical acclaim. He was also featured as a part of the XXL 2015 Freshman Class.^[4] His second album Big Fish Theory, which contains the singles "BagBak", "Big Fish" and "Rain Come Down", incorporates avant-garde, dance and electronic influences. It was released on June 23, 2017, to further acclaim from critics. On November 2, 2018, Staples released his third studio album, FM!.

Staples was born in Compton, California. He later moved to North Long Beach after his mother decided she wanted to move away from Compton due to the high crime rates.^[5] Staples is the youngest of five siblings, two brothers and three sisters.^[6][7] Staples grew up in poverty.^[8]

Staples attended Optimal Christian Academy from 4th to 8th grade, which he said was an influential and positive experience.^[7] During high school, Staples' mom sent him to Atlanta to stay with one of his sisters. He attended high school there for six months.^[9] After returning to Southern California, Staples attended other high schools: Jordan High School in Long Beach, Mayfair High School in Bellflower, Opportunity High School home schooling, Esperanza High School in Anaheim, and Kennedy High School, among others.^[7]

Staples has been upfront regarding his involvement with gangs during his childhood,^[3][9] and is involved with speaking to the youth in his community about the dangers of the gang lifestyle.^[7]

Staples was discovered by Dijon "LaVish" Samo, and Chuck Wun, alongside with his cousin Campbell Emerson. LaVish took Staples on a trip to Los Angeles, where he befriended the Odd Future collective's members Syd tha Kyd, Mike G, and Earl Sweatshirt. Although he had not intended to be a rapper, he made some guest appearances on their songs, most notably "epaR" that was taken from Earl Sweatshirt's debut mixtape Earl. After featuring on some other tracks, he decided to pursue a career in rap. He released his official debut mixtape, called Shyne Coldchain Vol. 1 on December 30, 2011, via applebird.com.^[10] In October 2012, he released a mixtape, titled Winter In Prague, which was produced entirely by Michael Uzowuru.^[11]

In 2012, Vince reconnected with Earl Sweatshirt, when he returned from Samoa and was introduced by him to a fellow American rapper Mac Miller, who later produced his mixtape Stolen Youth (2013) under the alias Larry Fisherman. The mixtape features guest appearances from Mac Miller, Ab-Soul, Schoolboy Q, Da$H, Hardo, and Staples' Cutthroat Boyz co-member, Joey Fatts.^[12] Following Stolen Youth's release, he toured as a supporting act on Mac Miller's The Space Migration Tour. After making three appearances on Earl Sweatshirt's debut studio album Doris, including the single "Hive", the liner notes revealed Staples had recently signed to the hip hop record label Def Jam Recordings.^[11]

On March 13, 2014, he released his fourth mixtape, called Shyne Coldchain Vol. 2.^[13] The mixtape features the production from Earl Sweatshirt, Michael Uzowuru, Childish Major, No ID, Evidence,^[7] DJ Babu, and Scoop DeVille; as well as guest appearances from singer-songwriters Jhené Aiko and James Fauntleroy.^[14] On March 2, 2014, Staples began touring in the United States with a fellow American rappers Schoolboy Q and Isaiah Rashad on the Oxymoron World Tour, to support the release of Schoolboy Q's album Oxymoron.^[15]

On August 15, 2014, Staples released a music video for "Blue Suede".^[16] The track was also made available on iTunes.^[17][18] On September 9, 2014, Vince released another new song titled "Hands Up" via iTunes. He released the EP Hell Can Wait on October 7, 2014.^[19] Prior to the EP's release Staples' revealed during an interview with XXL Magazine that it would include guest appearances from A$ton Matthews and Teyana Taylor, along with productions from No I.D., Infamous, and Hagler.^[20]

On May 4, 2015, Staples released as the first single from his debut album, called "Señorita". He later announced it that his debut album would be titled Summertime '06,^[21] which was released on June 30, 2015.^[22] On June 15, Staples released the second single from his debut album, "Get Paid" featuring Desi Mo. On June 22, he released the album's third and final single, "Norf Norf".^[23] The track reached viral prominence after a video referencing a mom tearfully complaining about the song became popular on social media^[24]

On February 23, 2016, Staples was announced as part of the line up for the 2016 Osheaga Music Festival.^[25] On August 25, 2016, Staples released the seven-track EP Prima Donna, featuring guest appearances from A$AP Rocky and Kilo Kish; as well as it accompanied by a short film.^[26] On January 31, 2017, he announced a single, BagBak, would be released on February 3, 2017. BagBak was later featured in the trailer for the Marvel Studios film Black Panther.^[27] On March 23, 2017, he was featured on the Gorillaz track, called "Ascension" from their album, Humanz. In an interview on Zane Lowe's show Beats 1, he announced his upcoming album would be called Big Fish Theory and released an accompanying single, "Big Fish",^[28][29] which was followed by a third single, "Rain Come Down" on June 8, 2017, which featured vocals from Ty Dolla Sign. The album was released on June 23, 2017 and received with widespread critical acclaim.^[30][31] He and rapper Tyler, The Creator announced on November 15, 2017, that they would be doing a tour around North America from January 26 to March 4. Staples then collaborated with film composer Hans Zimmer on a remix of the UEFA Champions League Anthem for the FIFA 19 reveal trailer.^[32]

In 2017, Staples was featured on the remix of Billie Eilish's song watch, entitled &burn.

In 2018, Staples set up a GoFundMe page seeking $2 million as a response to people criticizing his work; they could pay to have him retire early. However, it taken down given the low response. Simultaneously, the GoFundMe's title was also the same title of his upcoming single.^[33]

Since 2015, Staples has appeared in advertising campaigns for Sprite and promoted the brand through his Twitter feed.^[34]

On June 14, 2016, Staples announced his assistance in a YMCA program that will benefit young people in North Long Beach.^[35] The Youth Institute would teach graphic design, 3D printing, product design, music production and film making to 20 eighth and ninth graders at Hamilton Middle School.^[35] Staples donated an undisclosed amount to the program.^[35][36][37]

Staples has stated that he has never used alcohol or illicit drugs, and that he follows a straight edge lifestyle.^[38] He lives in Southern California.^[6]