SABA – “C0FFEE!” review

Chicago, Illinois emcee/producer SABA celebrating Devil’s Night with a brand new EP. The co-founder of the Pivot Gang collective a decade back, he broke out in the fall of 2016 off the solo debut Bucket List Project & the follow-up CARE FOR ME was where his potential would be put on a much more broader display. Few Good Things was a better version of Cordae’s sophomore effort From a Bird’s Eye View coming off From the Private Collection produced by No I.D., he’s grabbing himself a cup of C0FFEE!.

“How Many X?” begins by asking all sorts of questions like the amount of times this woman had broken his heart or if she even wants give his love a chance & after the “don’t be long” interlude, “my bro” featuring Senite jazzily talks about charming a woman he fell for more than once. The self-produced “Looking for Parking” shows off his singing abilities hoping his girl ain’t tired after pulling up to her complex while “Today Years Old” talks about not being like others.

Starting the 2nd half, “high tides” discusses all the hues in his life get so bright for the moment just before “itachi” after the “supplier” interlude talks about trying to stay sane despite that not being so easy because of the turmoil unraveling in front of us these past 9 months. “TICTACTOE” lastly finishes the EP with him starting to miss phone calls & texts from a female he’s no longer on speaking terms with realizing that some shit is better off being let go of.

It doesn’t really surprise me that coming off the most beloved full-length of SABA’s career this spring, C0FFEE! would embrace an experimental sound & get more abstract with his songwriting. However even with all these interesting creative ideas floating around, I don’t find myself coming back to it as much as From the Private Collection because there are a few key moments where some of these tracks don’t feel fully fleshed out.

Score: 3/5

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SABA – “From the Private Collection” review

This is the 4th full-length studio LP from Chicago, Illinois emcee/producer SABA. The co-founder of the Pivot Gang collective a decade back, he broke out in the fall of 2016 off the solo debut Bucket List Project & the follow-up CARE FOR ME was where his potential would be put on a much more broader display. Few Good Things was a better version of Cordae’s sophomore effort From a Bird’s Eye View & after 3 years, he & No I.D. are finally unearthing tracks From the Private Collection.

“Every Painting Has a Price” soulfully kicks it all off talking about it being a lovely day for him to go out of his way & everything being good aside from shit getting ugly whereas “Breakdown” takes the jazzy trap route instrumentally asking his romantic partner what’s really going on. “Crash” gives off a calmer vibe to the beat talking about making time go fast together just before “Woes of the World” brings a trap flare back getting emotional to know what he knows.

The drums get stripped during “Stop Playing with Me” telling everyone that he ain’t wanna be fucked with leading into “Westside Bound 4” featuring MFnMelo jazzily talking about being unstoppable under any given circumstance. “head.rap” samples “No Time to Lose” by Madison McFerrin covering Saba’s hair & it’s continuous changes, but then “Acts 1.5” looks to fuck the street up referencing the baddest man on the planet & WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson.

After the “Reciprocity” interlude, “Stomping” boasts that he’s so smooth of a talker to the point where he could convince Jesus Christ to buy an NFT off him while the soulful trap hybrid “Big Picture” talks about considering the broader context, long-term implications & overall goals of a situation. “30secchop” featuring Jean Deaux & Joseph Chilliams finds the trio no longer walking with their heads low while “How to Impress God” delves into the complex relationship between earthly achievements & spiritual purpose.

“She Called It” featuring Frsh Waters nears the final moments From the Private Collection with both of them talking about Pivot being a collective that’s respected as a family refusing to break their balls & their word since those’re the only 2 things they got left while “a FEW songs” featuring Smino finishes with them assuring the listeners of it being ok l to change it all so beautifully, feeling the love & letting it go. The jazzy boom bap fusion “Back in Office” warns his competition to take caution & the other bonus track “Hue_Man_Nature” carries over the sounds of the predecessor putting a conscious spin on it.

SABA’s been teasing this for nearly 3 years now & because of the death of his uncle, the final product underwent a complete change of direction & could very well be the brightest collection of material of his whole career. Arguably surpassing Care for Me as the crown jewel of his discography. No I.D.’s versatile production goes from boom bap to jazz rap, trap, drumless & neo-soul remaining more consistent than Few Good Things providing a little bit of everything & refusing to misuse an opportunity like this coming with fully developed ideas.

Score: 4.5/5

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SABA – “Few Good Things” review

SABA is a 27 year old MC/producer from Chicago, Illinois who came up as the co-founder of the Pivot Gang collective a decade back. He then broke out in the fall of 2016 off the full-length solo debut Bucket List Project, but it wasn’t until his sophomore effort CARE FOR ME where his potential would be put on a much more broader display. A lot of people (including myself) have been patiently waiting to hear this 3rd album of his ever since & I’m so happy that the day’s finally come.

Cheflee tags along for the colorful opener “Free Samples” confessing it gets harder to spend less as you get more famous whereas “1 Way or Every N***a With a Budget” goes into a funkier, boom bappy direction talking about how there’s a million ways to get by. “Survivor’s Guilt” has this more energetic tone comparing his city’s love for him to the way Dublin loves former UFC Lightweight & Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor matched with G Herbo detailing still being wild even though he is rich but then “An Interlude Called “Circus”” mixes some hi-hats & an acoustic guitar reminiscing on the days before their first tape dropped.

Meanwhile on “Fearmonger”, we have SABA on top of a summery boom bap beat confessing his feeling of hunger just before Krayzie Bone comes into the picture for the heavenly “Come My Way” talking about thinkin’ how to get some money & then they’ll be good. “Still” has a more enticing vibe as he & Smino get romantic, but then the Mereba-assisted “A Simpler Time” takes a more settler route continuing to get more reflective lyrically.

“Soldier” reveals itself to be a hypnotizing Pivot Gang posse cut proclaiming that they’ll be buried as legends whereas “If I Had a Dollar” with Benjamin Earl Turner weaves in an acoustic guitar talking about he’d be rich if he got paid every time he failed. “Stop That” showcases some stellar flows even the the instrumental isn’t all that great while the track “Make Believe” is a touching open letter to SABA’s mother.

The penultimate song “2012” works in a peaceful instrumental detailing why that particular year will always hold a special place in his heart & the title track couldn’t have finished the album any better as Black Thought of none other than The Roots pops in for an epic 3-parter to talk about going back where they started.

I might catch some heat from people for saying this which I’m completely fine with because I’m used to people coming at me for saying how I feel, but this is what Cordae’s latest album From a Bird’s Eye View should’ve been. SABA’s lyricism is more transparent than it’s ever been & the production that’s backing these subject matters are just completely breathtaking.

Score: 4/5