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Chicago's rapper Tahj "Saba" Chandler, a member of the
collective Pivot Gang and of the rapping trio Ghetto Sage,
debuted solo with
Bucket List Project (2016), which contains at least three great
narratives
(Photosynthesis, Westside Bound 3,
and
Church / Liquor Store) and one great instrumental
(American Hypnosis)
but also a lot of filler.
Depression and anxiety dominate Care for Me (2018), devoted to the
stabbing to death of a Saba relative and co-produced by fellow Pivot members
Dylan "DaeDae" Fran and Daoud. Saba
did it again: some excellent and harrowing storytelling
(the seven-minute Prom/ King, Heaven All Around Me, Busy/ Sirens),
with a voice that sometimes apes Kendrick Lamar,
one great jazz-hop instrumental
(Calligraphy),
but also some filler.
Lyrically, few rappers of his generation could compete with Saba.
Musically, the production is so smooth that one almost doesn't realize this is still hip-hop.
Few Good Things (2022) is both less austere/ambitious and less musically cohesive.
The highlights are the clownish 2021 single Fearmonger, the
pop-hop ditties One Way or Every N**** With a Budget and
Soldier,
the Afro-beat of Still,
and the incursion in drill/trap Survivor’s Guilt.
The narrative tour de force here is the seven-minute Few Good Things.
But much is half-baked, and sometimes feels simply like an imitation of
fashionable styles.
(Copyright © 2021 Piero Scaruffi | Terms of use )
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