“Few Good Things” - Saba

The Chicago rapper’s latest is a solid reflective journal on his rise from the streets to riches

By: Griffin Jacobs

Chicago rapper Saba has been a hip-hop indie darling since his early collaborations with Chance the Rapper that propelled him into relevancy. It isn’t difficult to understand why, either; his sound has been defined by his conscious lyricism, soft and laid-back beat choices, and an ability to string catchy choruses with wittily crafted flows in his verses.

On “Few Good Things,” Saba seems to be trying to branch out from that niche to mixed results. “Survivor’s Guilt” is reaching towards a more mainstream trap sound. Unfortunately, despite solid lyricism, it doesn’t fit in with the rest of the album, and Saba is clearly out of his comfort zone. This issue is more clearly exemplified on “Fearmonger” which reminds me, at least instrumentally, of Childish Gambino’s notoriously bad “California.” It feels clunky and unnecessary, different for the sake of difference.

Fortunately, the record picks up in its second half, where Saba returns to and improves on his previous sound. The last three tracks are easily the best three and exemplify the best elements of this record. “Make Believe” is beautiful poetry, reflecting on Saba’s origins and how he now lives the life he could only imagine as a kid. “2012” is a puppy love song with the maturity of hindsight, a yearning for a time when all we needed was each other. The title track adds a filter of realism to the nostalgia of the previous tracks, showing the hardships of the past and how they’ve influenced his present.