Vince Staples Doesn’t Want Your Bouquet

Vince Staples has his demons; the monsters that he has created because of his experiences that keep him up at night. We all have them. Some seem silly, some seem universal. Staples has created a monster out of something that should be beautiful: roses.

Roses mean intimacy, passion, sentiment and all of those other lovey-dovey things that go along with what drives love at its core- lust. It may be taboo to chalk up such a deep, intimate sense of emotion and belongingness to just having checked out her ass and wanting a piece of it, but the reality is that human nature’s thirst for ideal reproduction drives love. Or at least it is what gets the ball rolling, especially for adolescents that are young, dumb and full of cum. I’ve been there, you’ve been there and Staples has been there.

Roses are a common theme in Staples’ emotionally distraught songs. The most obvious example is his song titled “Guns N Roses”, a song he concocted under producer Larry Fisherman (a.k.a Mac Miller). While half of the song is about running the streets and the inexplicable feeling of firing a gun, the other half is about young love. Young, dumb, miscast love. Staples’ story of a young woman falling in line with the wrong guys and fucking them to fill her void of happiness is a played out theme that we see in any environment. The song is less about the happenings themselves, but what caused them.

“She used to love so strong til’ she got done wrong.” Staples plays on the youthful experience that is heartbreak to explain why young women become broken, promiscuous women. He then goes on to say that there is a yearning for a man who does all of the things their fathers never did for them, again seeking for someone to fill a void, even if just for the night. Staples is not glorifying the newfound promiscuity that comes with heartbreak, but he is acknowledging the fact that, man or woman, a broken heart will never mend and there will be demons to fight because of that.

Later, Staples released ‘Limos’ in his Hell Can Wait EP. In short, Staples raps about women trying to use their bodies to trap men and move up in the world with the facade of love. The fourth line jumps to Staples stating, “Trying to trade the hoes life for the red rose life.” Staples seems to have a less resenting connotation in using red roses than he had before. He almost paints the roses as a positive thing. Roses are typically associated with love and legitimate relationships, which is a step above being a, um, ‘hoe’. Still, it is no coincidence that he used them again. Staples once felt the “red rose” kind of love, and the flower turned its thorns on him.

In ‘Earth Science’, featured on Shyne Coldchain Vol. 2, Staples gets a bit more personal and gives us three verses about the lover that ruined him. He loved her and she loved him, but the second line is a dead giveaway that the relationship was never going to work, even if he wanted it to. He calls her a devil in disguise, but of course, he takes his shot with her anyway. The role of the rose in this story is the most significant of all and more than likely what has lead to his seemingly irrational fear of the flower.

Staples mentions this girl having a ‘red rose’ tattooed under her jeans, which should be a place that only he would get to see. He goes on to tell us his commitment to this girl; always telling her goodnight and trying in school to look good for her.

Shit, man. We have all been there.

Almost in a manic fashion, Staples follows up this expression of commitment with him being miserable having lost her, even ending with the verse in hopes that he will be together with her again some day.

The third verse is what really hits home. Staples gets to the point of realization. The relationship is over and has been for some time, and he has used that time to put the relationship in perspective. She was aborting his kids not necessarily just because she felt the relationship wasn’t stable enough, but because she was looking out for herself. She was making decisions on behalf of Staples and he realizes that her selfish nature, though understandable, hurt him more than anything. He goes on have the maturity to say that he does not regret the relationship and that she played a critical role in his development as a man. The verse then almost abruptly ends with him acknowledging his pain- the pain he felt when he told her he had to move on to better himself. There is a feeling of reluctance and numbness to Staples’ voice and words, as if he knows what is best for him despite how bad he wants this woman.

We have all been there, Vince.