A year and change following his last studio album Big Fish Theory, Vince Staples is back with a new full-length, FM!. With a tight run-time of 22 minutes, the new project serves West Coast realness across 8 songs, 2 (slapping) interludes, and a skit. And for a “small” release, the features are pretty big: Earl Sweatshirt, Kehlani, Ty Dolla $ign, and more make appearances. Here’s what else you need to know.

Album? Project? EP?

FM! is not Vince Staples’ next “official” album. An Instagram post teasing the release described it as a “special project dedicated to my biggest fan and supporter since day one”: himself. FM! was recorded during time off from working on what will be his next LP. In that sense, it’s similar to Prima Donna, the EP released in the year between his major label debut Summertime ’06 and Big Fish Theory.

California Love

The most instantly noticeable thing about FM! explains the title. The personalities of the long-running radio program “Big Boy’s Neighborhood” are the first voices you hear on the album, and Big Boy, Ayydé Vargas, and the other hosts introduce songs and hype up special guests over the course of the project. This gives the whole affair the feeling of a radio special, something you might luckily happen across while stuck in the brutality of L.A. traffic.

Maybe the most thrilling of these skits happens at the top of “New earlsweatshirt (Interlude),” when a drop of radio announcer Sketchomatic’s instantly recognizable voice says just that, right before Earl delivers an exciting (and all-too-brief) feature. Artists from up and down the West Coast are here as well: Kamaiyah, Kehlani, and E-40 make up the Bay Area delegation, while Vince’s fellow Angelenos Ty Dolla $ign, Jay Rock, and Tyga fill out the rest of FM!.

The Rave Is Over (Sort Of)

Vince’s last two releases have seen him expand his sonic palette, recruiting artists like James Blake, SOPHIE, and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon in his quest to create a dark, forward-thinking electronic album. By contrast, FM! is something of an about-face in the beat department. Booming subs and clackety hi-hats are plentiful, with nary a chord to be found. Instead, the beats are propelled by woozy plucks, largely courtesy of Kenny Beats, the rising star who established himself this year with work for Rico Nasty, Key!, and 03 Greedo.

He may have strayed from the fringes of electronica, but Vince has nonetheless selected a producer with a deep understanding of what makes bodies move. Kenny Beats was one-half of the bombastic EDM duo LOUDPVCK, delivering fat “trap” drops to the masses in the mid-2010s. With the exception of “Relay,” “Run the Bands,” and “FUN!”—which were handled by returning Vince collaborator and “Blue Suede” technician Hagler—FM! is a showcase of Kenny Beats’ prowess. It’s a victory lap for a rap producer who’s made a name for himself by putting his nose to the grindstone and making beats until he can work with any artist.

Rep Your Set

The beats are primed for the block party, but Vince’s penchant for darkness abides. FM! is, as the rapper describes it, a representation of his hood and his roots. His time as a gangbanger is practically a media trope at this point—a talking point for lazy media types who want an easy way to understand the man, who’s been vocal about his teenage years but clearly wants to be asked about something else. Instead of letting his past refract his lyrics, here Vince allows it to fully speak for itself, even more so than he did on his first major label EP Hell Can Wait.