RexRichardsonYouthInstitute

Richardson (L) and Staples (R). Image courtesy of Rex Richardson’s Twitter account. 

Turns out, Vince Staples is a pretty nice guy.

In response to a YouTube video posted by an upset mother—who identifies herself as a devout Christian—dismayed by the Long Beach rapper’s lyrics and visibly breaking down whilst spitting them, Staples said she had a right to her opinion and advocated for a “progressive dialogue.”

The internet whirled itself into a frenzy this week over the original video, posted a month ago, which features the mother of four tearfully reading aloud the lyrics to “Norf Norf,” a single off of Staples’ recently-released album Summertime ‘06. She expresses her alarm after hearing the song on a top 40 radio station in the car while dropping her daughter off at school.

 

“The radio station was on, and I think Meghan Trainor had just played. Which is fine. I don’t mind that[…]” she said, stating that she usually listens to Christian music. Then she heard Staples’ ode to North Long Beach.

“Guys… I could not believe what I was hearing,” she states in the introduction of the video. “Like, this is on our local radio station. This crap is being played. I couldn’t even believe the words I was listening to. As a mom, it infuriated me. Like, why is this on here?”

The internet exploded with memes and remixes as the mother’s emotional video went viral, ranging in tone from lighthearted and humorous to scathing.

 

Staples wasn’t having it.

“[T]he woman in that video is clearly confused on the context of the song which causes her to be frightened,” said Staples in a series of tweets Wednesday. “No person needs to be attacked for their opinion on what they see to be appropriate for their children. They have a right to it. This misunderstanding of our community leads to miscommunication which we should convert into a progressive dialogue.”