‘Ramona Park Broke My Heart’ by Vince Staples Is A Top Five Album of 2022

With the news that the greatest rapper of my lifetime, Kendrick Lamar, will be releasing his TDE finale and pgLang debut, Mr.Morale & the Big Steppers on May 13th, this week may be the last remaining best chance for me to campaign for another album’s Album of the Year merits. Ever since my first encounter, I haven’t been able to turn off Ramona Park Broke My Heart by Vince Staples. The Long Beach rapper’s latest project is the perfect combination of catchiness, storytelling, interludes, and beat selection that I look for in an album. The combination of these four aspects has lengthened the playback value of an album I enjoyed after hearing it for the first time beyond my prediction.

A true Album of the Year contender must have a level of playback value that surpasses the levels of most albums released throughout the year. I’m writing this on May 12th claiming that Ramona Park Broke My Heart, released on April 8th, has become my go-to album in many scenarios. To put this in perspective, Vince Staples’ newest record has far outlasted the three other albums from Fivio Foreign, EST Gee & 42 Dugg, and Coi Leray that were released on April 8th in my music listening diet. Additionally, Ramona Park Broke My Heart is on pace to outlast albums from Pusha T, Future, and Jack Harlow that were released after.

Yesterday, on May 11th, when I woke up ‘Rose Street,’ the album’s penultimate track and second single in the rollout was immediately stuck in my head. It’s not unusual for me to wake up with lyrics stuck in my head and on this day, I woke up to “she say she in love what’s that, trust what’s that, us what’s that, I’m married to the money don’t be playing games, only bringing flowers to the homies graves” blasting in my head. The catchiness of the hook on ‘Rose Street’ is amplified by how seamlessly the tempo of the beat blends with Vince Staples’ flow, a common thread throughout the album. Tracks like ‘Magic’ featuring Mustard, ‘Lemonade’ featuring Ty Dolla $ign, and ‘Rose Street’ have catchy hooks that merge with the tempo of the beat, making each track easy to follow and eventually catch on to.

The storytelling that is present throughout the album is impressive, with the best example being track six, ‘When Sparks Fly.’ Upon first listen it’s apparent that the track is a love letter. However, I didn’t realize who or what the track was directed towards until it hit me in the middle of a listen far removed from my first. With lines like, “I know that you love me, you don't gotta show me, off to the world, please, hide me from the police” and “Never put you in a jam, hold whatever for you, when you first shot your shot, I knew you would be the one to hit the spot, only you can make it clap for the homies, I am not, on the late nights, me and you, circling the block, tryna make it pop, put that pussy nigga 'cross the street from Cherry Park” it becomes clear that the track is dedicated as a love song to Vince’s gun. The level of metaphor and storytelling isn’t unique to ‘When Sparks Fly’ but the track still shines as an intentional gem throughout Ramona Park Broke My Heart.

The interludes on the album add texture to the narrative Vince Staples is trying to convey throughout his 2022 record. Track six ‘Nameless’ and track fourteen ‘The Spirit of Monster Kody’ go further in illuminating the realities of growing up in the circumstances that Vince Staples has. ‘Nameless’ features an interview where a woman describes the realities of her environment by stating, “I think it's wrong but then it's called, ‘Survival,’ you have to eat, you have to pay bills, you have to survive, so when get you used to pullin' a trigger on somebody, I-It's not, ‘I want to pick up a gun and just shoot.’ What ‘Nameless’ illuminates is the often ignored mentality that forces someone into criminal activity. Furthermore on ‘The Spirit of Monster Kody,’ Kody Scott, now Sanyika Shakur, talks about the journey he needed to travel to escape the life of crime that he once lived. The added texture in these interludes goes a long way in the overall solidification of the concepts and topics Vince Staples discusses on Ramona Park Broke My Heart.

The beat selection throughout Ramona Park Broke My Heart is a feature that ultimately adds to the cohesiveness of the album. Each of the beats throughout the album does an amazing job of setting the tempo and ultimately the mood for the emotions Vince intends for the listener to feel throughout. The effectiveness of each instrumental on the album is illuminated by their ability to add just enough to the musicality of this album. It’s clear that Vince has a message he’s trying to convey throughout Ramona Park Broke My Heart, however, it would be fair to surmise that Vince’s message may be watered down if it was delivered over an instrumental that clashes with the clarity of Vince’s lyrics.

Ramona Park Broke My Heart by Vince Staples is a lock for being top five on my Album of the Year list. The depths that Vince goes to deliver his message while still making the album digestible for people to listen to. Ramona Park Broke My Heart is a well-executed album with the sonic versatility to be played in multiple circumstances. Ramona Park Broke My Heart is the perfect combination of catchiness, storytelling, interludes, and beat selection, ultimately ensuring that it will remain in my rotation for the rest of the year.