Timeline
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On May 4th Vince released his first single, called Señorita.
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A day later (May 5th), he announced his forthcoming album, Summertime '06, rumoured for a June 30th release.
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On May 12th, the video for Señorita was released after a week long countdown on his website.
Watch here:
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On May 30th, the cover for the album was leaked.
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On June 2nd he tweeted the track list on Twitter, revealing ten songs but no details on features or producers.
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On June 6th he announced on Twitter a second track list revealing it will be a double disc album.
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On June 8th he released the official artwork via his instagram.
On June 15th he released his second single, named Get Paid.
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It was posted with this message:
"Love will tear us apart. Nov 30th, 2005 was the beginning of the loss. The following summer multiplied it. Beaten paths, crowded with the hopeless. Same song every day, listening to the words of a dead man destroyed by his own mind and body. Why? Because at the end of the day we’re all dead anyway. At least where I come from. 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. Jabari, Chris, Shard, Tom, Richy, Tyson, Tony, Shelly, Phil, Marcel, Brandon, Steve, Jaron, Tay. Too many to name, too much to forget. Some lost to prison, some lost to Forest Lawn, some turned snitch. Some still here but it will never be the same. Bandanas, Stealing Levis and Nike Sb’s. Derringers and Sidekicks. Its crazy how little you notice and how greatly those things impact. 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. Summertime ’06, June 30th."
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On June 15th he released his second single, named Get Paid.
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This artwork for Señorita looks hand drawn and scanned. If you look closely, it's a white piece of cloth. The art itself looks like it was simply drawn in a blue biro pen. It also has the effect of etching. I am unsure of the meaning behind this artwork as there are lot's of different images. However my overall interpretation is a contrast between being held captive/being confined and being free/in paradise. For example the image shows brick walls with barbed wire on top and a watchtower. This suggests imprisonment. Behind these walls are palm trees, sandy beaches and ocean. This could be supported by the video for the song which shows people in a confined area with large watchtowers shooting people.
The album cover is very simple and vague. There is no type saying the artist or album name, just white waves on a black background. This could have some negatives as people who don't know him might not consider listening to this as there is no information. As for the meaning of the black sea, the message may become clearer once the album is out. Overall, if you know Vince Staples and are anticipating this album, the cover could be quite interesting as its contrasting and mysterious which makes it intriguing. However for those that don't know anything about it, it may come across as boring and uninformative leading to them not bothering to give it a listen.
The updated official cover is a little more interesting. The background has a distressed effect, with grey and white scratches on the black background. This gives it texture rather than just a block filled background on CAD and makes it more interesting. This cover features his name and album title which I think is much better as it is more informative for someone who is considering to listen. The waves appear to be more central now whereas on the leaked cover they looked a bit too low. The waves could possibly link to Long Beach where he is from, but in black and white to show that it wasn't a typical happy holiday environment. This could be supported by the background to the album which is about the summer of 2006 when Vince's friend was murdered. The cover would then depict the positive vibes that come with summer in contrast with the incident that changed everything and meant this summer was not an enjoyable one. Overall this is an enhanced version of the leaked unofficial cover and is much more effective.
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