As I patiently wait for Vince Staples to announce some type of Chicago concert to make up for a cancelled Pitchfork Festival performance, I finally got around to watching the music video for the Long Beach MC’s Summertime ’06 standout “Norf Norf.” With the video continuing a similar theme to “Senorita,” Staples continues to solidify himself as an MC who is both talented and important.
The beat is an infectious one as soon as the clap kicks in, and the non-percussive loop that helps drive the track gives it a sense of brooding. It makes perfect sense accompanied by the video, where Staples is being arrested, interrogated and thrown in a jail cell all while rapping about banging (in a gang or otherwise) to the camera. The eerie part is how calm Staples’ demeanor is throughout the process, as if it is all expected at this point.
Whether the video is a depiction of a self-fulfilling prophecy or a commentary on how social injustices intend to let such scenarios play out, Staples’ music is an example of an accessible forum for young people to have conversations about the topics he raps about. Even something as simple as the primary lyric for the “Norf Norf” hook “I ain’t never ran from nothin’ but the police” begs the question, “Why is that?” From there, necessary educational discussion can begin.