{"id":475642,"date":"2026-10-24T18:28:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-24T18:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/475642\/"},"modified":"2026-10-24T18:28:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T18:28:09","slug":"review-vince-staples-brings-the-cry-baby-tour-to-dallas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/475642\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Vince Staples brings the Cry Baby Tour to Dallas"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tVince Staples brought “Cry Baby,” one of his most crtically acclaimed records to date, to South Side Ballroom on Friday night.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Elijah Smith for Dallas Observer<\/p>\n

Since he first entered the rap game in the blog era of the early \u201810s, Vince Staples has always been critical of the quote-unquote \u201cAmerican dream.\u201d <\/p>\n

Back in 2017, Staples went viral after tweeting<\/a> \u201cthe national anthem don\u2019t even slap,\u201d after more than 200 NFL players sat or knelt during the National Anthem in response to\u00a0President Donald Trump calling for team owners to \u201cfire\u201d any player who \u201cdisrespects our flag.\u201d <\/p>\n

The cultural and poltical commentary was hardly a novel concept to him, though. Songs like \u201cFire\u201d from his 2014 \u201cHell Can Wait\u201d EP detail growing up in survival mode in Long Beach. A fan favorite called \u201cStreet Punks\u201d from his 2015 debut album, \u201cSummertime \u201806\u201d serves as a reminder that only the strong survive. With his latest album, \u201cCry Baby,\u201d Staples transcends genre while doubling down on his music\u2019s past messaging. And his Friday night show at South Side Ballroom served as an energetic protest, bringing together fans of his craft \u2014 both longtime and newfound.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cIt\u2019s been about five years since we\u2019ve been to Dallas,\u201d Staples said on Friday. \u201cLet\u2019s show them what we\u2019ve been up to.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Elijah Smith for Dallas Observer<\/p>\n

Sign up for the Music newsletter to get the latest stories delivered to your inbox<\/p>\n

THANK YOU!<\/p>\n

You’re all set.<\/p>\n

CLOSE\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Staples\u2019 name doesn\u2019t often come up with the Drakes<\/a>, the J. Coles, or the Kendrick Lamars<\/a> with whom he came up alongside (though he has collaborated with the latter two). But among that blog era class, he\u2019s been the most consistent with developing his craft. With \u201cCry Baby,\u201d his first album since his departure from Def Jam and his seventh overall, Staples combines political rap with rock and punk instrumentation. He touches on police brutality and socioeconomic inequality by way of vivid storytelling and symbolism \u2014 that translates to his live performances. <\/p>\n

When he arrived to stage, Staples was backed by a women-led rock band. Standing in front of a giant crib with a humongous, morbidly obese baby (presumably modeled after Trump) bawling, he opened the show with the \u201cCry Baby\u201d cut \u201cOnly in America,\u201d on which he points out the inconsistencies of patriotic talking points we\u2019ve been sold our entire lives. \u201cYou can live by the gun, die by the gun \/ You can lie, you can steal, house on a hill,\u201d he rapped.<\/p>\n

\"\"The California artist was joined on stage by a familiar-looking crying baby. <\/p>\n

Elijah Smith for Dallas Observer<\/p>\n

He continued into more \u201cCry Baby\u201d tracks, like \u201cThe Running Man\u201d and \u201cWhite Flag\u201d before sharing anecdotes he\u2019s received from fans throughout this album\u2019s era: \u201cI got fans asking me \u2018Why are you making rock music?\u2019 Whatever the fuck that means.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staples later acknowledged how his fan base has grown over the years \u2014 many of us were introduced to him during that aforementioned blog era. Some only recently got to know him through guest appearances on \u201cAbbott Elementary\u201d and his cancelled-too-soon Netflix series \u201cThe Vince Staples Show.\u201d On Friday, asked the audience, \u201cHow many of y\u2019all have been here since \u2018Hell Can Wait?\u2019\u201d then he asked how many fans were new. For either answer, it was about an even mix of hands.<\/p>\n

\"\"Staples\u2019 new record leans into rock music. <\/p>\n

Elijah Smith for Dallas Observer<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been about five years since we\u2019ve been to Dallas,\u201d Staples said. \u201cLet\u2019s show them what we\u2019ve been up to.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

He then performed \u201cFire\u201d and \u201cStreet Punks\u201d as well as \u201cWhen Sparks Fly\u201d from 2022\u2019s \u201cRamona Park Broke My Heart\u201d and \u201c\u00c9touff\u00e9e\u201d from 2024\u2019s \u201cDark Times\u201d \u2014 his swan song with Def Jam. Though \u201cCry Baby\u201d is arguably Staples\u2019 most cohesive album to date, his old cuts fit into Friday\u2019s set seamlessly. It was a testament to Staples\u2019 storytelling.<\/p>\n

Staples jumped back into the \u201cCry Baby\u201d tracks as fans danced and jumped throughout the set, some of whom were even headbanging, leaning into the rock sensibilites he mentioned earlier. Energy was at its peak toward the end of the set, when Staples performed \u201cBlackberry Marmalade,\u201d the song that kicked off the \u201cCry Baby\u201d era.<\/p>\n

\"\"Staples\u2019 set on Friday spanned from songs off \u201cCry Baby\u201d to his early blog era hits. <\/p>\n

Elijah Smith for Dallas Observer<\/p>\n

What sets Staples apart from his peers is his ability to evolve while remaining true to his principles. In his heart of hearts, he\u2019s always been political without waxing sanctimonious. His lifelong sobriety has never made him self-righteous. And even before signing to an independent label, he was always openly critical of the major label system and its treatment of hip-hop artists.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, with one of the best albums of his career \u2014 and perhaps one of the most important albums you\u2019ll hear all year \u2014 Staples has cemented himself as one of the greats of his time. And \u201cCry Baby\u201d is one you need to experience live.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Vince Staples brought “Cry Baby,” one of his most crtically acclaimed records to date, to South Side Ballroom…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":475643,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[2171,102,104,103,2173,3503,2174],"class_list":["post-475642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-concert-reviews","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news","tag-hip-hop","tag-rock-music","tag-touring-artists"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=475642"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475642\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/475643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=475642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=475642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=475642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}