Travis Scott may be fresh off the Super Bowl and set to headline Tampa’s big hip-hop arena show of the spring, but don’t sleep on this one from outspoken Compton rapper Vince Staples, whose feature-laden third LP, FM!, plays like a move toward the mainstream that doesn’t compromise on the 25-year-old’s spitfire wordplay and left-of-center themes like black power and street violence.
Fans might want to get to the venue early, too, since another young Compton rapper, Buddy, is set to open in support of a debut LP, Harlan & Alondra, which inspired the New York Times to call Buddy “one of [2018’s] brightest insurgents.”
Vince Staples w/Buddy. Wed. Feb. 13, 7 p.m. $27.50-$127.50. The Ritz, 1503 E. 7th Ave., Ybor City. theritzybor.com.
This article appears in Feb 7-14, 2019.
