Vince Staples Previews Cry Baby Album with ‘Cotton’ Video

Vince Staples is no longer in business with Def Jam or Netflix. The split clears the path for Cry Baby, his first album for Loma Vista, arriving June 5. The teaser singles “Blackberry Marmalade” and “White Flag” already hinted at a turn toward guitar-rock textures, and the new track “Cotton” continues that direction with a half-sung, percussion-forward flow. Staples co-produced the song with Mike Hector and Oh Gosh Leotus.

The hook sounds bright on its face: “Music make me feel just like cotton / Pick me up when I’m falling down.” But the simile carries a heavier resonance. Cotton, the crop that anchored America’s slave economy, gives the line a tension the music alone doesn’t resolve. The video, co-directed by Staples and Bradley J. Calder, refuses to let that context recede. It takes the shot-up American flag from the “Blackberry Marmalade” clip and turns it into a canvas for a rapid montage of Black political persecution and artistic triumph, a visual seam between suffering and celebration.

Cry Baby lands this Friday. Staples will play a sold-out record-release show in Los Angeles on Thursday, streamed live for those outside the room.