Vince Staples Reflects On His Humble Beginning On The Anniversary Of ‘Summertime ’06’

Summertime ’06 was a huge release for Vince Staples. Following a handful of mixtapes in the years prior, the rapper’s 2015 debut album was the first time a lot of fans were exposed to him. Additionally, the album remains Staples’ one of his biggest chart successes, at is has his highest peak on the Billboard Hot Rap Albums chart at No. 2. That album came out six years ago today, and Staples’ celebration on Twitter made him a trending topic.

This afternoon, he tweeted, “Summertime ’06 was 6 years ago. Thank you to everyone who listened. [heart emoji] N.I.P. TSkrap.” He then added a couple hours later, “Favorite song from Summertime ’06?” Sure enough, he got his answer, as “Norf Norf” started trending.

He went on to describe his humble housing arrangement while making the album: “When Summertime ’06 was being made we stayed off 7th & Temple four deep in a one bedroom apartment with one 380. Life change fast lol.”

Back when Staples first announced the album, he wrote of it on Instagram (as Stereogum notes), “Love tore us all apart. Love for self, love for separation, love for the little we all had, love for each other, where we came from… Summer of 2006, the beginning of the end of everything I though I knew. Youth was stolen from my city that Summer and Im left alone to tell the story. This might not make sense but that’s because none of it does, we’re stuck. Love tore us all apart.”