Kenya Barris<\/a> (\u201cblack-ish\u201d) among its executive producers, is a more idiosyncratic kind of sitcom. In the world of the series, in which Staples plays a fictionalized version of himself wiggling through day-in-the-life predicaments, a trip to the amusement park becomes a treacherous sojourn and gun-culture satire runs alongside physical comedy. It\u2019s part art house, but Staples insists it\u2019s also just him.<\/p>\n\u201cI\u2019m very detail-oriented,\u201d Staples said. \u201cSo the things that I say sometimes might seem like I\u2019m trying to make this grand statement, but it\u2019s really just simple.\u201d<\/p>\n
In an interview, Staples discussed the lessons he learned from \u201cAbbott Elementary,\u201d his other sitcom influences and whether acting matters more to him than his music. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.<\/p>\n
Tonally and otherwise, \u201cThe Vince Staples Show\u201d is reminiscent of other auteurist comedies like \u201cAtlanta\u201d and \u201cCurb Your Enthusiasm.\u201d What were some of your influences?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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A lot of influences, the strongest one being the editing style of animation. There\u2019s \u201cKing of the Hill.\u201d \u201cPulp Fiction\u201d with our shot selection. <\/em><\/strong>We don\u2019t really have influences that people would assume. But having comparisons to such strong, proven things is an honor.<\/p>\nBefore your appearance on \u201cAbbott Elementary,\u201d you and Brunson co-starred in \u201cLazor Wulf.\u201d Did she give you any advice about creating your own show?<\/strong><\/p>\nShe has a lot of information and is very thoughtful. Just sending her scripts and telling her about the show, she has given me a lot of advice, a lot of help on how to navigate the space and how to make sure that your vision is getting executed properly. It largely falls on you and your willingness to work and complete tasks. Anything I\u2019ve ever asked for, she\u2019s given me the response that I needed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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You\u2019ve been open about your lack of interest in many aspects of hip-hop culture, like its occasionally extreme competitiveness. Have you maintained that distance in TV?<\/strong><\/p>\nI\u2019m not the most competitive person. I find the creation of the thing is kind of what I appreciate the most, the work that goes into it. So I\u2019m not there to measure myself up against other people. I\u2019m just here to create what I can create, and I try to be the best that I can be at whatever I\u2019m trying to execute. Everyone\u2019s story matters and everyone\u2019s work matters, to a certain extent. We\u2019re all trying to just get our voices heard and tell our stories.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The show employs distinctive cinematography. For example, in a bank robbery scene in the second episode there was a shot in which you were dead center, the robber is in the upper left and nervous customers on the bottom right. Were there some specific reference points you drew from?<\/strong><\/p>\nWe take a lot of inspiration in Roy Andersson, one of my favorite filmmakers. In his film \u201cA Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence,\u201d he has this shot in this restaurant or a cafeteria, where a lot of the people are separated by the pillars and just entering and exiting a frame. Things that are happening in the distance and things that are happening closer to camera, everything matters in the shot, especially when you stay within a wide. So I think operating within a wide sometimes allows you to bring subtle details and nuances to the shot, and the disposition of the people within the bank can speak to their relationships, speak to their experience.<\/p>\n
Was there an idea behind the Rick Ross appearance? You guys do seem to have different lifestyles outside of the show.<\/strong><\/p>\nA lot of the time there are certain levels to success, and there are levels to class, and certain levels to the assumption of what goes behind being a creative or, you know, a Black male. We tackle a lot of those things. The thing about Rick Ross and Vince Staples being viewed in a somewhat similar light even though they\u2019re drastically different, as you\u2019ve just stated \u2014 to someone who would be working in a bank or who would be in charge of that kind of financial freedom that we\u2019re both looking for, I think we\u2019re in the same fishbowl.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Is it fair to say that TV was more of an influence on you than hip-hop when you were growing up?<\/strong><\/p>\nYeah. I have older parents, older grandparents. We didn\u2019t really have access to music and cable as much as other people did. So \u201cThe Andy Griffith Show,\u201d \u201cM*A*S*H,\u201d \u201cMarried With Children,\u201d \u201cHome Improvement,\u201d \u201cThe Simpsons,\u201d \u201cKing of the Hill\u201d \u2014 I saw those a lot more than I heard albums. I can\u2019t even honestly remember hearing or even seeing a CD of my own until I got to probably eighth, ninth grade.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n