One of the least talked-about and most heartfelt tracks off Vince Staples’s identify-defining album, Summertime ’06, dispenses with the bravado of his other lyrics. At the same time, “Jump Off The Roof” showcases the fatalism and lyrical prowess that have garnered the 22-year-old Staples so much praise. Dissonant background vocals and a modest backbeat help to make this one of the most underrated songs of the summer. The figurative command to “Jump Off The Roof” is a wake-up call from Staples to himself, and to anyone else who has struggled with addiction.
Song of the Day: “Jump Off The Roof”
Max Gray
Read more of Max Gray at Big City Sasquatch or follow him on Twitter @City_Sasquatch. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Encounters, Mount Hope, Conte, tNY.press, and English Kills Review. He co-hosts the etymology podcast Words For Dinner and is a graduate of the Rutgers-Newark MFA program.