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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
Highsnobiety

This is rap at its most hedonistic, providing beats that would make a wallflower’s booty go frenetic in the club, but it is also rap at its most bleak, paranoiac and boundary-pushing.

100
NME

‘Big Fish Theory’ is one of the most ambitious, dazzling hip-hop albums of 2017 so far – neck-and-neck with Kendrick’s ‘DAMN.’.

94
Sputnikmusic

So, let it be said succinctly: Big Fish Theory is the best hip-hop album of 2017.

91
GIGsoup

On Big Fish Theory, the rapper changes nothing and everything, preserving his manifesto even in the newfound casings of fame, or something like it, and the most colorful and upending production to grace a hip-hop record this year. It’s thirty-six minutes of pain, perseverance, and persuasion that largely refuse to slow down.

91
A.V. Club

Big Fish Theory veers off the course set by its predecessor, bucking the sophomore slump by ditching the vast majority of his old collaborators and peers in favor of the sort of whole-cloth artistic reinvention generally associated with canonical greats like Kanye or Bowie. What’s even crazier is that he sticks the landing. It’s his second classic LP in a row.

91
Consequence of Sound

On his new album, Big Fish Theory, Staples continues to perfect his brand of nuanced nihilism while exploring new sounds that should put the music industry on notice that the future is now.

91
Entertainment Weekly

The full-length follow-up to his 2015 debut, Summertime ’06, surpasses expectations, with incisive lyrics and beats that spurn current trends for a set that sounds unlike anything else in hip-hop right now.

91
Pretty Much Amazing

This is Big Fish Theory in its basest form: A truly progressive, existential, emotionally saturated hip-hop album that establishes the value of dance-centric collaboration by reminding us that it’s exactly that.

90
Drowned in Sound

Staples's world of desperation, danger and decadence is deeply involving yet hugely entertaining, and represents another huge stride forward for an artist that can only move in giant leaps.

90
Crack Magazine
With the bar set high, this album still manages to up the ante for the Long Beach rapper – and it might be the most intriguing, innovative and barrier-busting release Def Jam has given us in what feels like too long.
90
Exclaim!
There are plenty of fish in the sea, but not many sound or think the same way Staples does.
90
The Line of Best Fit

On this record it is clear that Staples is making his own assertive artistic statement for these turbulent times, while also firmly establishing himself as one of the brash, singular voices that is going to be leading the music world into the chaotic, unpredictable future.

90
AllMusic

Big Fish Theory cements Staples' status as one of the most talented and forward-thinking voices in rap in the late 2010s.

87
Pitchfork

The new album is smooth where Summertime ‘06 was jagged, foregoing the disquieting noise for something more functional, finding sophistication in streamlined motion, like an art installation set up in a nightclub.

85
Prefix

It’s accessible yet intricate and challenging. It’s political, but that political is threaded through the personal, so Staples never sounds like he’s preaching or trying to speak for anything but his own experience.

84
HipHopDX
While Vince sticks with his most familiar narrative examining stardom’s futility despite it providing escape from former life’s struggles, his calling lies in finding provocative, edgy and unconventional ways to tell his story.
80
DIY

By weaponising his introspection and pushing his impeccably high standards outwards, Vince Staples delivers an incredible State of the Union address on rap today.

80
XXL

A focused collection with no egregious misses or lapses in quality, Big Fish Theory should only assist in Vince’s ascent as he continues to lay the foundation to what looks to be a legacy that will put him among the greatest scribes of his generation.

80
Clash

‘Big Fish Theory’ is a record that not only sees Vince taking risks and progressing forward as an artist, but also another astounding example of what hip-hop should and can be in 2017.

80
The Guardian

Staples might not own everyone quite yet but Big Fish Theory suggests he’s well on the way.

80
PopMatters

The Big Fish Theory is a powerful and troubling record. It’s an epic in miniature that shows a natural progression from Staples’s previous work.

80
The Observer

Like its predecessors, Big Fish Theory is an album that grabs you by the lapels with its urgency while slapping you round the ears with its sound design.

80
FLOOD Magazine

Summertime ’06 announced Vince Staples as a major figure, but Big Fish Theory makes it clear that he’s restless, inventive, and unconcerned with those keeping score from the other side of the glass.

75
The 405
While this album is being heralded as a triumph by many, to this writer it feels more akin to an in-between; furtive steps in a new direction that will almost doubtlessly be mined even more successfully next go round – assuming our hero doesn't veer in yet another direction.
70
Rolling Stone

Sure, it's less focused than the reportage of 2015's Summertime '06, but the varying emotions and outlooks mark a full step forward into becoming a multi-layered, genre-crossing, emotion-spilling pop auteur in the vein of West, Drake or Childish Gambino.

60
The Needle Drop

Vince Staples' Big Fish Theory is the Long Beach rapper's most eclectic project yet, but still exposes major songwriting deficiencies.

IvoBraga
91

This album sounds like it was made in 3040

MickyT
90

Poggers Based Fishe

ThePurpleIdiot
100

Damn, y’all really are amazing. Here I am, 400 (433 as I write this) followers! I’ve been here for 2 months, and I’ve grown this much, it’s awesome. I sound like a broken record at this point, but seriously guys, I absolutely love you all so fucking much. You all have helped me get through rough times and depression, and it warms my heart thinking about that. I’ve said stuff like this with every single milestone review, but trust me, it’s incredibly true. I ... read more

1leslieliver
91

It's a banger alright.
Favorite - Yeah Right
Least Favorite - Alyssa Interlude

F1regek
75

production goes crazy but i didnt really like the lyrics too much so..

schwaffles
88

ime cummign everyehwereeee

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Track List

1Crabs In a Bucket
3:17
87
2Big Fish
3:18
89
3Alyssa Interlude
2:38
77
4Love Can Be...
2:58
86
5745
3:47
84
6Ramona Park Is Yankee Stadium
0:51
72
7Yeah Right
3:08
94
8Homage
2:53
87
9SAMO
2:54
83
10Party People
2:58
84
11BagBak
2:40
89
12Rain Come Down
4:41
81
Total Length: 36 minutes
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Added on: May 15, 2017