Vince Staples, if he has his way, won’t be around much longer. Recording booths will grieve the absence of his dexterous and athletic flow. The crowds that line up around the country to see him will miss his bouncy shows and sugar-coated nihilistic lyrics. He’ll leave behind a trail of critically acclaimed disco-infused records that angsty rap enthusiasts in 2037 will unearth in their bedrooms on the moon. But Staples will be gone. Not in a macabre way: he’ll be a proud homeowner, living out his days in peace.

But first he has to clock in at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, on his Smile, You’re on Camera tour. The name sounds like something Staples once wrote down on a sticky note as a reminder to himself. As one review of the show takes pains to point out, Staples doesn’t smile much during his set. He knows what the fans who come to his show, to any musician’s show, want: “30 seconds on Instagram and a T-shirt to wear later,” he tells me a couple hours before he’ll take the stage. And Even if Staples acts like he’s working for the weekend, he is at the top of his profession onstage where there isn’t a down beat during his hour-long performance.

But a few weeks into the tour, he’s tired. He needs a nap. Red Bull is the only item he says he personally adds to his rider. “Because I’m sleepy,” he explains. “I get tired a lot.” But he also sounds existentially exhausted—by practically everything. The rap game (“I'm for sure not going to be doing this shit forever. Why would I? It's a scam.”), internet trolls (“The people who are making jokes out of people's lives are all fucking losers.”), even pizza (“Pizza's disgusting.”) But what comes off curmudgeonly is actually what makes Staples endearing. He's not putting on a happy face, and his tendency to say things most publicists would hate is a cause for celebration.

“My thing about the tour is that I'm working towards affording peace,” he says. “I'm trying to buy a house and then I'm straight.” Maybe he’s trolling me—he once vowed to “shut the fuck up forever” if he raised $2 million on GoFundMe. But even that appeared to be clever marketing for a new song.

He’s waiting for his next shift to start in a sparse greenroom that’s filled with Smart Water, scattered apples and bananas, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, and a variety pack of Frito-Lay chips. Staples says he didn’t ask for any of it. When I arrive, he’s laying down on the couch, a position he’ll remain in for the entirety of our 30-minute interview, in a pair of the ‘Purple Lobster’ Nike SB Dunks, tan cargo pants, and a Calvin Klein 205W39NYC Roadrunner sweater.