Vince Staples Says He's 'Got Some Bread' But He's 'Not Rich'

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Vince Staples reiterated that he’s not as rich as his level of fame might lead some fans to believe.

Staples recently sat down with Jeff Ihaza for a conversation at New York’s Cherry Lane Theatre earlier this month, and during the chat, he was asked about getting better as a live performer. He was then asked if he enjoys performing live, and he replied, “Yeah, why not?”

Ihaza highlighted that being onstage and seeing fans in the crowd is “a huge point” for some artists, and he said, “Probably, I mean, I don’t know what to tell you, bro. … It’s like, my job. I don’t really know what to say.”

He said that he understands the “escapism” of being a fan, but in the end, “It really all come[s] down to money.” He added, “Nobody asking people that they don’t think have money any of these fucking questions. So the question is, ‘Hey, I think you’re rich, do you like being rich?”

While he enjoys performing, he suggested that he treats as a job.

“N***as start asking crazy shit like, ‘Do you like being on stage?’” he laughed. “I get it, but it’s like, ‘Yeah I wouldn’t do it if not.’”

He added that when artists go on tour, they have to pay for everything in advance, including insurance and the venues.

“You spend all this money up front, and if you don’t sell no tickets, then you don’t make no money,” he added. “Nobody’s doing that if they don’t like to do it.”

Then Ihaza asked, “Do you like being rich?” In response, Staples implied he’s not as rich as some people might assume.

“I’m not rich like that,” he said. “I got some bread, but I’m not rich. I got less money than the anesthesiologist.”

Elsewhere in the interview, he addressed the accusation that Black artists “abandon” hip-hop when they make music of different genres.

“If you say that utilizing certain sounds is abandoning hip-hop, then you don’t know enough about hip-hop to have a conversation about it,” he said. “Because it doesn’t make any sense, literally.”

Watch the full interview up top.