"Nate" [ft. James Fauntleroy]

L.A. rapper Vince Staples grew up, like many boys, wanting to be just like his dad. On his new track "Nate", off his upcoming project Shyne Coldchain Vol. II, Staples confronts his childhood and his hero's past. He acknowledges the dark path his father took, and appreciates that he did not follow in those footsteps while still longing to emulate that reckless behavior—with no greater justification needed than "'cause my daddy did it."

Staples delivers the same kind of no-nonsense bars we were treated to on last year's "Hive" from Earl Sweatshirt's Doris. He doesn't shy away from the truth; he embraces it. He shows us just what he saw, delivering it with fearless precision ("Smokin' in the crib, hidin' dip inside of soda cans/ Black bandana on his arm, needle in his hand"). Regardless of how his father may have lived, though, Staples wants us to see him as fondly as he does: "Catch him ridin' 'round the city with the seat back."