Vince Staples has returned with his first solo song in two years, 'Blackberry Marmalade,' marking his debut as an independent artist. The track features a noise-rock beat and a graphic, age-restricted music video co-directed by Staples and Bradley J. Calder. The video depicts a violent first-person shooter scenario ending with a Martin Luther King Jr. quote.
Vince Staples dropped 'Blackberry Marmalade' on April 26, his first solo release since 2024's Dark Times, which was his final project with Def Jam. The song explores themes of modern anti-establishment views, including a refrain of 'Promise me you won’t gun me down,' with nods to Kanye West and Princess Diana over a noise-rock beat, as first reported by Pitchfork. This single ushers in Staples' new era without a label backing. The accompanying music video adopts a first-person shooter game style. It shows the cameraperson arming a gun in a parking lot and targeting Staples, who attempts but fails to disarm the shooter before the scene shifts to a diner mass shooting. A red hat labeled 'Crybaby' with an embroidered date sits on the dashboard of Staples' car, prompting fan speculation about a potential future release. The video concludes with a quote from Martin Luther King Jr.: 'So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be.' Staples has stayed active recently, collaborating with Jpegmafia on 'New Black History' from I Lay Down My Life for You and JID on 'VCRs' from God Does Like Ugly. Season 2 of The Vince Staples Show aired on Netflix last fall but was canceled in January.
