Vince Staples Teams up With Major Lazer Co-Founder Stretch For "Ghost"
As you may have already been aware, we're big Vince Staples fans here at Wolf's Head. "Summertime '06" still gets heavy burn over here at the shop. So I was surprised, to say the least, when I learned that he had teamed up with newly formed collective With You - a group comprised former Major Lazer member Switch, along with Rick Trainor, Jeff Penalva, Noah Schy, and Daouda Leonard to release a house track entitled "Ghost". It's an odd pairing on the surface, but I'll be damned if it doesn't work, and work well. I can already hear this bass heavy track thumping out of a club near you, but what makes it stand out is not only the excellent production or Vince's flawless cadence, but the message behind the lyrics. Staples, who doesn't drink or do drugs, accurately portrays the plights and perils of a party girl dabbling in illicit substances, and beginning her downward spiral. Upon first casual listen, you might even think he's glorifying drugs, until you get to the hook. "You're so damn high, i might see a ghost." The age-old adage of "A spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down" is deftly applied here, with the track being the sugar, and Vince's uncompromising and cautionary tales of casual substance abuse going wrong being the medicine. I have always admired and respected artists who can step outside of their comfort zone artistically, and make the end result look effortless. I have also always admired and respected artists who use their platform, voice, whatever you want to call it, to educate people into maybe making some smarter choices in life. With "Ghost," Staples does both. Rumble, young man, rumble.
-Josh
josh@shopwolfshead.com
