What the hell is going on?

By Manuel Gemperli

Some people wonder why there aren’t more protest songs or albums being released these days. Where is this generation’s “What’s Going On” when “what’s going on?” is what most of us ask ourselves every damn day? It’s true that there aren’t many big names thematizing the current political and social landscape in their music. (The Boss serves as a notable exception, and yet somehow that Minneapolis winter already feels like ages ago.) I can’t think of a truly canonical protest anthem of now. That doesn’t mean that no artists voice their frustration these days though. In case you’re interested, the great people of “Sound Opinions” gave us a nice overview of examples in their podcast episode “modern protest songs” (Billy Bragg is still mad. Rightfully so.) As many things in culture today, the reach is limited. Breaking everybody’s individual bubble is difficult. You gotta dig. 

Vince Staples enters the ring (or is it a fucking octagon?) with “Cry Baby”. I’ll go ahead and assume that he expected people to be reminded of a certain someone looking at this cover. He voices his frustration in these musical observations of what the hell is going on. He is eloquent but also doesn’t shy away from profanities to get his point across. Sometimes, you gotta be direct to be heard. What do I as a middle class white guy know about the black experience? Not a whole lot probably. I can watch the news. I can read articles. Great journalism still exists, you know. It might just not appear automatically in your feed. But music is a way to communicate and learn on an emotional and intellectual level simultaneously. I love to listen. 

Sonically, this album is quite a departure for Staples. The heavy use of live instrumentation makes this album sound and feel urgent and communal. There are hooks left and right, creating an immediate impact. It’s a melange of rap, rock, funk and more - a celebration of black creativity, of American creativity. This album is political. And it’s personal. It contains layers - lyrically and musically. What a great collage of ideas, opinions, feelings, styles this is.

Order "Cry Baby" at our store 22 Sound right here

Browse through our whole store online right here