CARE FOR ME by Saba (Review)
[Originally Published on April 6, 2020]
Saba opens the intro singing “I’m so alone.” This brief, weighty sentence is the theme of CARE FOR ME—which alone makes it one of the most important projects of the last decade.
Despite our unifying hashtags, niche Reddit forums, and crowded ussies, the social media generation is lonelier than any before it. Having exposure to more people doesn’t necessarily guarantee us companionship, as online connections are often weaker and more superficial. In fact, our constant access to people can often lull us into a false sense of knowing them.
On “BUSY/SIRENS”, Saba describes how his “friends” routinely left him out: “All em got plans, I call ‘em up, ‘my bad,’ and text ‘em/ They never cross me like bad pedestrians.” He paints himself as “awkward since adolescence” and openly discusses his long battle with depression. In fact, this hip-hop album could easily be categorized as Neo Blues. Saba possesses a dexterous flow and melodic tongue, but his casual relatability is what draws you in.
At times, listening to CARE FOR ME is Siri unmuting your FaceTime call between you and your insecurities without your consent. The Chicago rapper is brutally honest, which can leave you feeling either violated or validated—unclothed or heard. He balances discussion of the unique struggle of his dangerous environment with the universal struggles of adolescence. On “BROKEN GIRLS”, Saba attempts to cast off codependency and emotional baggage in his romantic relationships. As skillfully narrated on “FIGHTER”, he wrestles with toxic masculinity and a severe lack of self-worth; it pushes him against his nature and into fist fights to prove his mettle. It drags him into unnecessary power struggles with his lady.
As foreshadowed in the album opener, the foreboding that looms over Saba’s story is his cousin Walter’s violent murder. On “PROM/KING”, the project’s backbone, he unravels the events leading up to a scene he’ll never forget. At first, he plays it cool with his flow and cadence—just as he did when his cousin played “Hitch” so he wouldn’t be dateless at prom. His tone intensifies as he leaps into the car and desperately searches for his cousin who “got killed for a coat”—only to find him bleeding out on the pavement.
You can feel him rapidly run through fear, anger, sadness, and then shock on “HEAVEN ALL AROUND ME.” You can see him take a single step backward, his hearing dulled by him realizing the paramedics will never bring Walter back. This is not a feel-good story, but it’s real. It’s art. Saba made it out and has become one of the most promising new artists in the game, but Walter didn’t have to die for it to happen. Black boys’ bodies are not steppingstones to propel us higher. Void of any radio hits, CARE FOR ME isn’t made to entertain you. It was sent as a reminder that you matter. You are not alone.
