Long Beach native Vince Staples has returned with “Magic,” the lead single from his forthcoming album Ramona Park Broke My Heart. Produced by Mustard, the uptempo single is a return to Staples’ West Coast gangsta rap roots, while the project itself serves as a love letter to his hometown, the Ramona Park neighborhood of Long Beach. .
“It’s symbolic of home,” Staples says of the album’s title. “And everyone has a home. Even though it’s very personal to me, everyone can relate to it. That’s why I thought it would work for this chapter. “I think it’ll put the listener in a good state of mind. The mood of it defines the project.”
“Magic” — which was originally teased in a Beats By Dre ad earlier this month — puts Staples’ upbringing centerstage with lines such as, “Money in the mattress, love the way I stack it/I can make it rain blue hundreds, can you catch it?/If somebody come through bluffin’ I’m gonna blast ’em and tell the police I don’t know what happened/Crip and Bloods shit, that’s the only thing I’ve ever been in love with/So I hope you know we never going public/Hands full so I can’t hold grudges.”
Vince Staples first announced he had new music coming via Instagram on February 7 with a clip of the Beats By Dre ad starring tennis pro Naomi Osaka.
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“Naomi Osaka & Beats,” he wrote in the caption. “Vince Staples & Mustard. That’s ‘Magic.’ New music coming soon. #BeatsFitPro #RPBMH @Mustard @NaomiOsaka @BeatsbyDre.”
Ramona Park Broke My Heart serves as the follow-up to 2021’s highly personal self-titled album Vince Staples. While they are obviously two different bodies of work, they are still undeniably connected.
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“They were kind of created at the same time,” Staples says. “I was in a similar state of mind. I’m still working through things and the questions that life poses. This album will make even more sense if you heard the previous one. There is a key change, though. This one has more answers.”
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The project is expected to arrive sometime in April via Motown Records. In the meantime, stream “Magic” above.
