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.
‘Big Fish Theory’ is one of the most ambitious, dazzling hip-hop albums of 2017 so far – neck-and-neck with Kendrick’s ‘DAMN.’.
So, let it be said succinctly: Big Fish Theory is the best hip-hop album of 2017.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Big Fish Theory cements Staples' status as one of the most talented and forward-thinking voices in rap in the late 2010s.
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.
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.
By weaponising his introspection and pushing his impeccably high standards outwards, Vince Staples delivers an incredible State of the Union address on rap today.
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.
‘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.
Staples might not own everyone quite yet but Big Fish Theory suggests he’s well on the way.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Vince Staples' Big Fish Theory is the Long Beach rapper's most eclectic project yet, but still exposes major songwriting deficiencies.
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
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