Vince Staples Reflects On His Friendship With SOPHIE Following Her Death

The whole music industry is mourning following the unexpected passing of SOPHIE, including her close friend and collaborator, Vince Staples.

Source: Tim Mosenfelder / Getty

Earlier this week, the Long Beach rapper reflected on his relationship with the Grammy-nominated artist, who he met back in 2016. Staples revealed that he was introduced to SOPHIE while they were both opening for Flume’s Australia tour, remembering one of the first interactions he every had with the late musician.

“I remember once we were at the pool. She was on her computer, I was doing whatever I was doing. I was like, ‘I’ll see you later, Sophie!'” Vince told  Rolling Stone. “She looked at me like I was crazy, like, ‘How the f**k do you know who I am?'”

Staples went on to acknowledge that on Flume’s tour, the vast majority of attendees weren’t there to see the opening acts. Regardless, he noticed that SOPHIE’s music always caught everyone’s attention, which was something he was trying to learn how to do himself, at the time.

“I was learning the importance of grabbing attention, the way certain sounds and textures can turn your head,” he explained. “We had songs that people liked, but even if they liked the songs, they didn’t demand attention. One thing about Sophie’s music, it demanded attention … Her music demanded attention. While 30,000 people were waiting for one guy to go on, her music demanded attention.”

Staples also tweeted about SOPHIE immediately following news of her passing, posting a photo with the artist and simply writing, “Rest In Peace.” The Scottish-born producer died at the age of 34 after she climbed up to watch the full moon and accidentally slipped and fell.

The late producer offered her inimitable production to two of Vince Staples’ tracks off his 2017 album  Big Fish Theory: “Samo” and “Yeah Right.”

SOPHIE’s experimental pop-driven production caught the ears of Madonna to which she co-produced the single “Bitch, I’m Madonna.” The 34-year-old artist also collaborated with Charli XCX on her EP Vroom Vroom back in 2016.

SOPHIE’s 2018 debut album “Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides” landed her a Grammy nomination for Best Dance/Electronic Album.