Ramona Park Broke My Heart

Started around the same time as the sessions that yielded his 2021 self-titled album, Ramona Park Broke My Heart, the fifth studio album from California rapper Vince Staples, continues down a path of introspective and sometimes nostalgic tones. The Ramona Park name-checked in the albums title refers to the Long Beach, California neighborhood where Staples grew up, and he seems to flash between memories of his upbringing and how the present day was informed by his past throughout the album. The infectiously funky "Magic" finds Staples remembering the harder times of street hustling and public housing squabbles on his way to success, flowing over a mellow, bass-forward Mustard-produced beat. Tracks like the solemn, weary "East Point Prayer" and the booming "DJ Quik" are similar, as he remembers his early days of gang affiliation and reflects on how the pressures from those days never really lifted, they just took different shapes as Staples found fame. He spends some time dissecting his complex relationship with sex and love, as well, starting the sharp anti-love track "Rose Street" with the ad-lib "I dont sing no love songs, aint never sang no love songs!" and transferring the sentiments of a romantic relationship onto his gun on the clever "When Sparks Fly." The production throughout Ramona Park Broke My Heart is metered and languid, with unrushed tempos and relaxed vocal deliveries on most of the material. Staples goes even deeper into memory and self-reflection on Ramona Park Broke My Heart, presenting his pain, glory, and contradictory emotions in sharper definition while turning in some of his most engaging music to date. ~ Fred Thomas

LAのリリシストが約9か月の短いスパンで放った新作は、Gな風味の先行曲"Magic"を手掛けたマスタードを筆頭に、旧知の間柄であるケニー・ビーツやDJダーヒー、カードーらが制作陣に参加。タイトル通り西海岸のヴァイブスを強く感じさせながらLAでのハードでリアルなライフスタイルをラップしており、タイ・ダラー・サイン参加のポップな"Lemonade"では人生のほろ苦さをレモネードに例えて綴っている。
bounce (C)Masso 187um