Coachella 2022: Vince Staples performs songs from new album, 'Ramona Park Broke My Heart'

Vince Staples brought Ramona Park — a reference to the Long Beach rapper's stomping grounds — to the desert in more ways than one Sunday.

Performing in front of a yellow flower shop lit up with the name, "Ramona's Roses," Staples delivered an electric performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, performing several songs from his new album, "Ramona Park Broke My Heart," which was just released April 8.

Staples, who last performed at Coachella in 2018 with surprise guest Kendrick Lamar, brought plenty of energy in his return to the Southern California music festival, to the delight of the packed crowd inside the Sahara tent.

"It's been a long time since we've been here ... But there's only one thing I ask for this whole show: Whatever's holding you back and making you feel like you can't have a good time at this (expletive), you got to let go," Staples said. "I don't care if it's at home, at work, on the street, you got to let go."

Staples began by playing one of the album's lead singles, "Rose Street," from atop the yellow flower shop, which seemed to be a reference to the chorus: "I'm married to the gang, don't be playing games/Only bringing flowers to the homie's grave."

The 28-year-old rapper has released a string of projects in recent years, and he performed hits from several of them, including "Big Fish Theory," "FM!" and his self-titled EP, "Vince Staples."

While his work often centers on darker themes, Staples is well-known for his goofy personality — "The first person to ever eat eggs was on some freak (expletive)" is a great example of his Twitter commentary — and he showed it during the performance, riffing with people in the front row and challenging someone to sing along with a mic.

Staples even acquiesced to a fan's request for one of his older hits, "Norf Norf," making a point to joke with the fan for being from east Long Beach, rather than the north side that Staples hails from.

But Staples, whose set included a handful of slower songs such as "Mama's Boy" and "Sundown Town," also got reflective as he asked the crowd to put two fingers in the sky before playing one of his new songs, "When Sparks Fly."

"Let's take a moment for everything we lost these past couple years, all the people we lost in the last couple years?" Staples said. "Everybody in this crowd's still alive. Everybody's still here, and we're not going anywhere anytime soon."

Tom Coulter covers politics and can be reached at thomas.coulter@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Coachella 2022: Vince Staples performs songs from new album