Chicago native rapper Saba is both introspective and talented

Saba is a 27 year old rapper and producer from Chicago. On his second feature-length album “Few Good Things”, he further develops his sound with a record reflecting on the drastic changes his life has undergone since his music career took off.

His whimsical 2016 album “Bucket List Project,” along with a feature on Chance the Rapper’s mixtape “Coloring Book” carved out a spot in the Chicago rap scene for the then 21-year-old.

Two years later his sophomore record “CARE FOR ME” chronicles the tragic murder of his cousin Walter, who was killed on a Chicago train for his jacket.

“Few Good Things” feels like Saba pulling the assured feel of “Bucket List Project,” as well as the sincereness of “CARE FOR ME” together, furthering his growth as an artist.

In the first track, “Free Samples,” Saba reminisces on the struggles that he and his family endured in his youth.

The imagery of feeling nostalgia driving past houses his family lost is very poignant.

“One Way” displays Saba’s adjustment to living an affluent life. He talks about having leisure time, a vegan diet and making frivolous purchases.

The title is looped into an analogy of financially supporting friends and how often that favor isn’t reciprocal, and how that parallels the one-way street his new house sits on.

“Fearmonger” is a track that illustrates the fear that Saba interweaves throughout the album. He expresses those he knows are afraid of going broke because “no one’s there to lend a rope.” What I believe he’s getting at is that people who’ve experienced poverty or hunger live in constant fear of losing what they have.

This is a testament to the staying power of poverty-related trauma. This anxiety lives around the edges of the project throughout its 47-minute runtime.

The track “2012” demonstrates the storytelling prowess that Saba possesses. This continues a trend of penultimate tracks recounting emotional moments in his life both big and small.

His ability to relate to his audience makes these tale-spinning songs especially disarming and stirring.

One clear strength of Saba is his ability to work with a wide range of accompanying talent via features. Singer Mereba’s performance on a simpler time meshes well with Saba’s style while he also keeps pace with verbal acrobats like Smino and G.Herbo on “Still” and “Survivor’s Guilt,” respectively.

Another piece of the album that deserves praise is the production. Daoud and daedaePIVOT teamed up with Saba to create a soundscape complimentary to what Saba aimed to cultivate on this project.

Striking a nice balance between unique structure and simplicity, the sample light production primes Saba for his sonic change of pace.

To sum it up, “Few Good Things” represents progress in Saba’s career with an album that attempts to quell irrational fears that can harm our well-being and reflect on an already successful career for the Chicago native.

I would recommend giving Saba’s discography a listen and I find myself excited to see that the future holds in store for him. I rate his discography 8 out of 10 stars.