Screenshot of Prima Donna. 

Take a trip through the mind of Long Beach-raised rapper Vince Staples, as he deals with the twists and turns of the famed and fickle music industry, his own shortcomings, misgivings, insecurities, jadedness and wonderings of what seems like the life of a critically acclaimed artist.

Staples posted on his Facebook page today the premiere of a short film that coincides with his new EP Prima Donna. Directed by Nabil, it takes the viewer on an introspective, offbeat ride through what looks like Staples’ own consciousness as he travels from shooting a music video, to riding in cab driven by a strange man, only to be dropped off at an eerily quiet parking garage connected to an old hotel where he’s overwhelmed by not only screaming fans, but the ghosts of long-gone influential artists like West Coast rapper Tupac.

And it doesn’t stop there.

Staples seems to go through what might represent a rebirth of sorts, or the shattering of an image, as depicted when he wakes up in a clearing, takes a gun and literally shoots his mirror image to an audience’s applause, then lays bleeding out, back in the clearing. But please don’t take these words for it, watch the film yourself and several times while you’re at it. There are layers to peel with this one.

Listen to Prima Donna on Soundcloud here.