A member of the group Cutthroat Boyz, rapper Vince Staples surfaced in the early 2010s with a spate of promising appearances on Odd Future-related recordings — including Earl Sweatshirt’s “epaR,” Mike G’s “Moracular World” and Award Tour EP, the Jet Age of Tomorrow’s “Lunchbox,” and Domo Genesis’ “Elimination Chamber” — as well as the 2011 mixtape Shyne Goldchain. In 2012, the rapper released Winter in Prague, a mixtape issued as a free download with the production work handled entirely by Michael Uzowuru. A darker, more introspective mixtape, Stolen Youth, arrived in 2013 with a co-billing to Larry Fisherman (a Mac Miller alias) and verses from Ab-Soul, Schoolboy Q, Mac Miller (as Mac Miller), and Cutthroat Boyz partner Joey Fatts. Staples then performed as the opening act on Miller’s Space Migration tour. Among Staples’ assists in 2013 were verses on Earl Sweatshirt’s Doris and Jhené Aiko’s “The Vapors.” The rapper continued his steady ascent in 2014 with a fourth mixtape, Shyne Goldchain, Vol. 2, and contributions to Common’s Nobody’s Smiling — specifically on the key single “Kingdom,” as well as on the deluxe edition bonus track “Out on Bond.” His debut album, Summertime ’06, landed in 2015 with production from Clams Casino and No ID. ~ Andy Kellman