The Vince Staples Show – Episode 2 “Black Business” Recap & Review

Black Business

Episode 2 of The Vince Staples Show starts with Vince showing up at a well-reputed bank. The teller assumes that he wants to use the restroom and denies him permission to do so. Vince clarifies that he was here to talk to the bank’s loan officer which makes the woman laugh out loud. She calls the Bank Manager and tells him that Vince is here to apply for a Small Business Loan.

The woman laughs on the phone along with the manager laughing on the other line which leaves Vince confused. Vince is now in Mr Hightower – the bank manager’s cabin and tells him how he intends to start a new business for the health and well-being of the Black community. He reveals his business plan that introduces an alternative to Sugar as the ingredient was the number 1 cause of death in the Black community.

Mr Hightower seems less than pleased with Vince’s proposal and wonders how much capital he would need from the bank. Vince reveals that he needs $3-5 million for the business and reveals that he earns very well owing to his career as a musician. Mr Hightower tells Vince that the bank would never hand out a loan to an “artist” who relies on lives from pay-check to pay-check.

He also adds that their bank is well-reputed and only loans out money to business people. Vince is dejected by the conversation and goes to a local gangster who gives Vince a loan, no questions asked. The next day, Vince goes to deposit the money he was loaned by the loan shark. Just then, four black men show up at the bank with white paint all over their faces.

The men try to rob the bank and Vince is worried they’d take away his briefcase. However, the bank robber turns out to be an old friend of Vince’s. Vince is instantly relieved and chats with the robber before leaving. Just as he is about to leave, the cops show up outside the bank. Vince asks his friend, the bank robber to let him stay inside the bank for a while.

Inside the bank, the other hostages (who are white people) are all petrified of the robbers but Vince is relaxed and having a great time. Mr Whitetower finds Vince and asks him to help them and offers to give Vince the loan he wants. Vince agrees to help Mr Whitetower and talks to the bank robber. Vince talks to the bank robber and learns his plan to get $8 million.

The robber reveals how he had a stable income anyway and wanted to fly to Tulum, Mexico with the helicopter that the cops would send to evacuate the hostages just to get away from his day-to-day life. Vince is amused and negotiates with Mr Whitetower, asking for $10 million instead. Mr Whitetower tells Vince that he is ready to give the money to the bank robber but adds that he does not have the password to the safe.

Vince walks to Mr Whitetower’s cabin but runs into the janitor, who is a black man. The janitor tells Vince how he was happy to be working at the bank and adds that he considers the owner to be his savior. Vince enters Whitetower’s office and talks to a friend who calls him, asking to be bailed out of jail.

Vince ignores his friend’s request and tries to open the bank safe. Vince manages to use the information from the janitor to open the safe and finds the safe empty. He tells the robber that the bank safe is empty and reveals that someone had played smart and stolen the money in silence instead of making a spectacle like he did.

The bank robber is shattered and he goes back outside heartbroken. Vince tries to make him see that money is not everything and asks him to keep his hopes up. He then releases Vince and Mr Whitetower from the bank but the cops waiting outside don’t know who the robber is. The cops ask both men to raise their hands and while Vince complies, Whitetower refuses and gets shot in the head. 

The Episode Review

The deadpan social comedy in this mini-series is a clear mockery of the status of POC (People of Color) in America. The status of artists and the clear discrimination they have been facing for years. The scenes are in your face and make you see what the Black community has experiencing for years on end.

The makers and Vince Staples himself who wrote and produced this show want you to see this blatant racism and understand why Black men would rather commit crimes than try and reason with racists. Mr Whitetower refuses to give Vince a petty loan of $3-4 million dollars but does not mind giving $10 million to another black man with a gun.

The Vince Staples show is well made and I would love for the episodes to be longer. However, the current length is crisp and to the point. I wish it got more promotion as it does the much-needed job of pointing out the dark reality of the world that the Black Community lives in even today