Vince Staples originally shared the tracklist for his new album Big Fish Theory without any features listed. Although most of the album’s guests leaked online ahead of its release, two important names were missing: Ray J and Damon Albarn of Gorillaz. Both artists are featured on the track “Love Can Be…” alongside Kilo Kish, handling vocals on the intro, outro, and bridge. The song is produced by Miami production duo GTA.
Albarn opens the track, singing:
Love can be
Love can be disheartening, darling
Love can be
Ray J croons the same lyrics on the bridge and Albarn repeats them on the song’s outro.
In a 2015 interview with Hot 97, Staples explained why he’s such a big fan of Ray J and talked about the possibility of a future collab:
Ray J will never lose, Ray J is the man, Ray J is probably top five hip-hop West Coast of all time… Ray J has had a hand in everything that’s occurred in black culture… Everything we love is directly related to Ray J. We don’t need a Ray J feature, we’re not ready for that, we just need a cosign.
The song serves as Staples and Ray J’s first official collaboration, although Ray J did sample Staples' Hot 97 interview for an interlude on his recent mixtape Burn My Name with Chris Brown. Staples also worked with Albarn earlier this year on Gorillaz’s single “Ascension.”
Kilo Kish appears on three Big Fish Theory tracks: “Love Can Be…,” “Crabs in a Bucket,” and “Homage.” On the first verse of “Love Can Be…,” she sings about a relationship with some financial perks:
Love can be a lot, so maybe not
You can give me all the cash you got
Let me take those keys around the block
Make some memories on daddy’s yacht
Big Fish Theory is Vince Staples' first full-length album since Summertime ‘06 in 2015. The project also features A$AP Rocky, Ty Dolla $ign, Justin Vernon, and more.
Listen to the song above and read all the lyrics to Vince Staples' “Love Can Be…” on Genius now.
