Over the weekend, California-based clothing brand Vans celebrated the third and final date of Vans' Almost Summer music series at the House of Vans in Brooklyn with special guest performers Pusha T and new XXL Freshman Vince Staples.

The 2015 West Coast MC took the stage in front of the Brooklyn crowd and performed some of his most well-known hits, as well as a few tracks off of his debut Def Jam album Summertime '06, which is slated to drop on June 30. Staples' 45-minute set had the House of Vans rocking from start to finish with the crowd spitting his lyrics word for word.

After his performance, XXL spoke to Staples about his Summertime '06 project and the influence of Vans sneakers on the West Coast. Check out the interview below as well as exclusive behind the scenes polaroids of Vince before and after his performance. —Roger Krastz

XXL: Growing up, what was the importance of the Vans brand for you and the West Coast?
Vince Staples: Oh, we thought we were skateboarders when we were younger. That shit was crazy. We used to think that we was super duper rappers, super duper terror kiddy backer three time niggas, so Vans was important for us growing up. And they cheap as hell and Lil B the BasedGod and The Pack's "Got My Vans On But They Look Like Sneakers" took over middle school. But as far as Vans in the West Coast, that's some regular shit, man. Everybody has a pair of Vans. They know what they're doing.

Could we ever see you do a collaboration with Vans or any other footwear brand in the future?
I don't know man... It depends who got the bread.

Why did you decide on naming the album Summertime '06?
Man, just when you looking towards getting a debut album out, you gotta look into something like other experiences you had in life, like a turning point in life. And I drew inspiration from that time period and started going through concepts and I decided to title it that.

Instead of giving fans 20 straight tracks on the disc, you decided to break it down into a double LP. Why?
Just to eliminate it from being overwhelming. Give somebody a fresh start. Twenty songs straight back to back would be kind of hard, just to do things conceptually. It helps break down stuff more and it's easier for people, 'cause it's a lot of music out here and it's coming fast. So the more your music is able to be digested by the fans, the better it is.

Think of the album in the sequencing. Like, listen to the songs one after the other and try to dissect each song, because it's a reason why everything is at where it's at on the album.

I didn't notice any features on the track listing you posted...
Oh yeah, there's definitely some features on the album. We got some people on the album. The tracklisting with features is probably out there on the internet somewhere, so leak coming soon. [Laughs] You know that shit always happens.

What should fans expect to hear from you on this project?
You can't really expect nothing from me. I be doing weird shit. I be doing what I want to do. None of my projects sound like the next one. Everything stands on its own.

Do you have a set goal for this project?
I just want it to reach the most people as possible. Get my message across. Affect the most people I possibly can. You know what it is; it's all music. We all gotta connect to each other.

If you can have a child actor, past or present, to play Summertime '06 in a film, who would that be and why?
Richie from Family Matters, because my nigga had the cold jheri curl, man. And that really has nothing to do with me, just more the appreciation of the curl, because the curl is a dead art form.

You called yourself the best Freshman since Kevin Durant after the XXL cover was revealed. How does it feel to be the KD of rap?
I just say shit that's going to make people mad. I didn't mean that. I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to be rude. You know people is sensitive.

Check out Vince Staples' XXL Freshman freestyle below and his profile and interview right here.

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