Vince Staples has always been known to express his thoughts and opinions.
In a recent interview with the podcast Back on Figg, he shared how Mac Miller was an early supporter of his music career going above and beyond to help the Long Beach rapper.
Staples said that early in his career he struggled with networking and didn’t really know how to make music, but that all changed when he met Miller at Schoolboy Q’s house. During their first conversation, Staples said Miller asked him, “what’s up with the music?”
Although Staples’ career was in its infancy, Miller could sense potential in the Norf Norf rapper and told him that he would make beats for him so they could work on music together. He kept his word and literally went the extra mile for Staples.
“He [Miller] picked me up at my granny house on 89th and Hooper,” Staples said, marking the beginning of a fruitful relationship.
Over the course of a year, Staples said Miller taught him how to rap on beat, project his voice, and record ad-libs. Their relationship culminated in their 2013 collaborative mixtape, titled Stolen Youth and a tour that same year, which was headlined by Miller and supported by Staples among others.
“I give a lot of credit to Syd, I give a lot of credit to Earl [Sweatshirt], I give a lot of credit to my g Matt Martian, but they didn’t change the way I thought about life,” Staples said during the podcast interview. “He [Miller] changed my life, like my perspective and made me a better person.”
Staples said he never wanted to be a rapper. He wanted to get a job at the Port of Los Angeles and a home on Bixby street. Now, he has over five million listeners on Spotify and seven albums under his belt.
You can watch the complete interview here.