Vince Staples isn’t with rap fans pitting him against other artists. On Tuesday (July 23), he shared a special message to social media users who debated which artist has a better discography: him or J. Cole.
“You n**gas need jobs,” the Long Beach rapper hilariously stated before adding, “[Y’all are] so passionate about Hip Hop, but I’ve yet to see one of you weird a** n**gas break dance.”
The origins of the back-and-forth appeared to come from a Twitter account that wrote, “There’s not a single thing Vince Staples does better than J. Cole. I’d also rather listen to the [most recent] half of Cole’s discography over Vince’s.” In a quote tweet with nearly 5,000 likes, someone argued, “I’m a J. Cole fan, but Vince does just about everything better than Cole.”
Staples’ sixth studio album and final underneath Def Jam Recordings, Dark Times, came out in May. Unlike his previous project, the 13-song offering contained zero features and only one pre-release single, “Shame On The Devil.” Production-wise, he enlisted Jay Versace, frequent collaborator Cardo, Mike Hector and more.
During a conversation with Rolling Stone, the “Norf Norf” artist described Dark Times as a sonic reflection of how far he’s come. “I’m 31 by the end of this year, and that’s a big difference from being 17 years old, releasing music for the first time,” he told the publication. “So, if I’m speaking about my life, I want to make sure that I’m retracing my steps and knowing where I came from in a certain regard.”
Cole’s The Fall Off, which he initially teased in 2019, is still awaiting an official launch date. He fed fans’ appetites with April’s Might Delete Later, which contained songs with Gucci Mane, Ari Lennox, Central Cee, Ab-Soul and Bas. The mixtape was also home to the Kendrick Lamar-aimed “7 Minute Drill” before the track was taken down roughly a week later.
So, who has the better catalog: Staples or Cole? See what social media users thought below.