On June 2, 2015, Staples revealed the track listing for disc one of this double album on his Twitter account, and then for the disc two on June 6, 2015. On June 21, 2015, Summertime '06 was made available for streaming on NPR. On August 24, 2016, the full version of the album's final track "'06" was released on Adult Swim Singles Program 2016.
Singles
The album's first single, "Señorita", was released on May 4, 2015. The album's second single, "Get Paid", which features a guest appearance from Long Beach-native rapper Desi Mo, was released on June 15, 2015. The album's third and final single, "Norf Norf", was released on June 22, 2015.
Album artwork
The album cover art is based on that of the iconic 1979 album Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division, a pioneering post-punk band led by Ian Curtis, whom Staples was a fan of when growing up.
Critical reception
Summertime '06 was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 87, based on 24 reviews. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 8.4 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus. David Jeffries of AllMusic said, "Splitting this weighty and rich effort into digestible chunks, the album's physical release comes on two separate discs, making Summertime '06 an artistic triumph wrapped in conceptually fitting package." Evan Rytlewski of The A.V. Club said, "It's a major triumph disguised as a minor one—60 minutes of lean, inventive, important rap music that never pats itself on the back for being any of those things." Alex Gale of Billboard said, " promising, unapologetically dense debut." Adam Kivel of Consequence of Sound said, "Former Kanye mentor No I.D., DJ Dahi, and Clams Casino handle production on the album, but they work together with Staples so that the seams between the different dreams, hallucinations, memories, and nightmares don't show." Lanre Bakare of The Guardian said, "In a year of impressive solo rap albums, Staples has managed to create one that's arguably the most idiosyncratic of the lot." Erin Lowers of Exclaim! said, "Summertime '06s coming of age tale is complemented perfectly by production that finds the nuance in Staples' stories and matches it, couching Staples' rhymes in a way that the streets can understand best." Jay Balfour of HipHopDX said, "No I.D. and company have helped him make music that's both uncomfortable and lived-in, and Staples sounds more himself inside of it than ever before." Colin Fitzgerald of PopMatters said, "Summertime '06 is the kind of coming-of-age story that's common to hip-hop, but Staples delivers his account with a furious passion and refreshing insight." Jayson Greene of Pitchfork said, "Summertime '06 is breathtakingly focused, a marathon that feels like a sprint." M. T. Richards of Spin said, "Virtually every song slaps like crazy." Dan Rys of XXL said, "It is, simply, one of the best rap debuts of the year." Martin Caballero of The Boston Globe said, "Vince Staples goes all-in on his sprawling double-LP commercial debut, and the returns are decent if not world-beating." Christopher R. Weingarten of Rolling Stone said, "It adds up to a hard-hitting 20-track portrait of life and love in a mad city."
Accolades
Commercial performance
Summertime '06 debuted at number 39 on the US Billboard 200, selling 13,000 album-equivalent units in its first week. It ranked 20th on Billboards Top Album Sales chart for the week of July 18, 2015.
