The new approach feels fresh and revitalising, without toning down the artist’s gift for fiery rhetoric. “Thoughtful summer jams” might sound unappealing on principle, but in this case at least, it’s a winner

The rapper’s brash new rock album is a reflection and rebuttal to American instability, deploying rebellious music for historically grounded critiques of racism, war, and complicity

This may be something different than what fans wanted or expected, but it's a project full of things that undoubtedly need to be said and heard

Cry Baby is comforting, filling, and just a bit weird—exactly the kind of meat and potatoes we’ve come to expect from Vince Staples

Sonically, Cry Baby has the energy, groove and beats of a classic Danger Mouse production

Vince Staples comments on the injustices and genocidal tendencies baked into the US’s DNA, striking a balance between satire, rant, and attunement to the tragic

Freed from his Def Jam obligations, the Long Beach lyricist delivers his most passionately political release to date

Refusing to accept easy answers, the West Coast rapper demands a lot of himself, and his audience – for those willing to spend time with it, ‘Cry Baby’ is a uniquely thrilling experience

It the dots from The White Stripes at their grooviest to The Beastie Boys at their mid 90s fusion-fuelled best

On his seventh album, the Long Beach rapper navigates the streets with a keen eye for observation and an undisputed gift for richly layered wordplay

After a run of similar-sounding introspective records molded primarily by Def Jam’s concerns about keeping him hip hop, Cry Baby marks a breakaway from the norm for Vince Staples. It may not be punk, precisely, but it certainly rhymes

An urgent manifesto against American injustice and complacency

Cry Baby is Vince Staples' most focused and concentrated work in recent memory. Not one to miss as the uncomfortable truths ring out like war cries