Home / Arts and Entertainment / Saba's Jittery New EP Offers Loose Break from Serious Themes
Saba's Jittery New EP Offers Loose Break from Serious Themes
11 Nov
Summary
- Saba's new EP C0FFEE! recorded in his Ford Bronco Wildtrak
- Marks a relaxed departure from his typically meticulous projects
- Blends perseverance and remorse with effortless raps and gossamer beats
In the past few years, Chicago rapper-producer Saba has delivered a series of painstaking, thematically-driven projects. From 2016's Bucket List Project to 2018's sweetly melancholic CARE FOR ME and 2022's Few Good Things, his music has grappled with unfulfilled dreams, grief, and encroaching oppression.
However, Saba's new EP C0FFEE! marks a more relaxed departure. Written, recorded, and occasionally set behind the wheel of his Ford Bronco Wildtrak, the nine-track project has a loose, freewheeling vibe. Saba's production braintrust still showcases impressive range, but the ideas here scrape up against each other in untidy ways, offering a break from his typically meticulous approach.
Tracks like the opening "How Many X?" blend sloping Dilla-esque drums, flecks of guitar, and a meandering keyboard riff into a platform for perseverance and chest-puffing. The energy then shifts to the sedate "don't be long," where Saba adopts a spoken-word flow to reminisce on everything from constant emails to his cousin's release from prison. The rubber-band whiplash snaps the mood back into place on the springy "my bro." Overall, C0FFEE! finds Saba finally easing up on the gas, noodling and flailing to see what he hits.
