Care for Me
Studio album by
Saba
ReleasedApril 5, 2018
Genre
Length41:35
LabelSaba Pivot, LLC
Producer
  • daedaePIVOT (also exec.)
  • Daoud (also exec.)
  • Saba (also exec.)
Saba chronology
Bucket List Project
(2016)		 Care for Me
(2018)		 Few Good Things
(2022)
Singles from Care for Me
  1. "Busy"
    Released: February 26, 2018
  2. "Life"
    Released: March 20, 2018

Care for Me (stylized as CARE FOR ME) is the second studio album by American rapper Saba. It was released on April 5, 2018, by Saba Pivot, LLC., and has received critical acclaim from music critics and audiences alike.[1] The album was produced entirely by daedaePIVOT, Daoud and Saba.[2] The album also includes guest appearances from Chance the Rapper, Kaina and theMIND.[3]

Background

In February 2017, Saba's cousin and fellow Pivot Gang member, Walter E. "John Walt" Long was stabbed to death in Chicago. In an interview, Saba spoke about the mental process and how writing the songs on the album were therapeutic saying:

Care For Me is the first time I delve into talking about depression and anxiety, and then all of these factors as to why I am the way I am. A lot of it had to do with losing my best friend and older cousin, [John] Walt, which is throughout the album. I think why Care For Me is so important is because it talks about mental health in a lot of ways that are simple but I just haven't heard it done in hip-hop music that way.[4]

Music and lyrics

Care for Me is a concept album dedicated to the memory of his late-cousin, which Saba started working on in December 2017. The penultimate track "Prom / King" recounts a story of being set up a blind prom date by Walt, who saves him from the potential embarrassment of public loneliness. The blind date is a success and the pair head to an afterparty. The festive mood suddenly turns dangerous when the date's brother arrives and threatens to stab him. The track was initially planned to be the outro of the album however Saba felt the song was too depressing and didn't want to leave listeners with that feeling. Towards near completion of the album, Saba recalled a moment to review his progress saying: "I was listening with one of the producers and he actually pointed it out: 'Damn dude, all of these songs are about Walt,' I didn't even realize."[5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.2/10[6]
Metacritic93/100[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
The A.V. ClubB+[9]
Consequence of SoundA−[10]
Exclaim!8/10[11]
HipHopDX4.4/5[12]
Pitchfork8.7/10[13]
PopMatters9/10[14]
Under the Radar6.5/10[15]
Tom Hull – on the WebB+ ((3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention))[16]
Vice (Expert Witness)A−[17]

Care for Me was met with widespread critical acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 93, based on 5 reviews.[7] In his review for AllMusic, Fred Thomas described the album as a "masterful artistic statement" with "Beautifully minimal production [that] supports the feeling of emptiness"[8] Writing for HipHopDX, Justin Ivey stated "With Care for Me, Saba accomplished his objective by making an album that can endure for years to come. His higher aspirations won't afford him the visibility of the rappers acting out for attention, but projects like Care for Me should put him into the discussions of his generation's best hip hop artists."[12] Sheldon Pearce of Pitchfork gave the album a rave review, awarding it Best New Music, saying "The grief-stricken Chicago rapper’s latest is a marvel of craft, musicality, and emotion. Through Saba's inner turmoil, he finds his most powerful and diaristic storytelling."[13] Wren Graves of Consequence of Sound wrote "At 10 breezy tracks, Care for Me isn't just a collection of songs; it’s an honest-to-god album that develops ideas at its own pace."[10]

Accolades

Publication Accolade Rank
The A.V. Club The A.V. Club's 20 best albums of 2018[18]
3
Billboard The 50 Best Albums of 2018[19]
32
Chicago Tribune The Best rock and rap albums of 2018[20]
5
Complex The Best Albums of 2018[21]
15
Consequence of Sound The 23 Best Albums of 2018[22]
3
NPR Music The 50 Best Albums of 2018[23]
26
Okayplayer The Best Albums of 2018[24]
15
PopMatters The Best Albums of 2018[25]
15
Rolling Stone The 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time[26]
184
Spin The 51 Best Albums of 2018[27]
37
Uproxx The 50 Best Albums of 2018[28]
12

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Busy / Sirens" (featuring theMIND)5:29
2."Broken Girls"4:37
3."Life"2:42
4."Calligraphy"3:04
5."Fighter" (featuring Kaina)4:42
6."Smile"3:28
7."Logout" (featuring Chance the Rapper)2:30
8."Grey"4:00
9."Prom / King"7:31
10."Heaven All Around Me"3:32
Total length:41:35

Notes

  • All track titles are stylized in upper case letters, e.g. "BUSY / SIRENS".
  • "Prom / King" features uncredited vocals by John Walt

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the rapper's official SoundCloud and Genius pages.[29][30]

References

  1. ↑ "CARE FOR ME by Saba". iTunes Store (US). Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Stream Saba's "Care For Me" Project". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Saba Releases Candid, Introspective Album 'Care For Me'". Pigeons and Planes. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  4. ↑ Platon, Adelle. "SABA ON BREAKING OUT OF HIS COMFORT ZONE AND RAPPING ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH ON 'CARE FOR ME'". Tidal.
  5. ↑ Leight, Elias. "How Saba Made Art Out of Grief on 'Care for Me'". Rolling Stone.
  6. ↑ "Care For Me by Saba reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  7. 1 2 "CARE FOR ME by Saba Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  8. 1 2 Thomas, Fred. "Care for Me – Saba". AllMusic. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  9. ↑ Waite, Kelsey J. (April 6, 2018). "Saba, Care For Me". The A.V. Club. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  10. 1 2 Graves, Wren (April 7, 2018). "Saba Artfully Dresses Fresh Wounds on Care for Me". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  11. ↑ Campos, Daniela (April 7, 2018). "Saba: Care For Me". Exclaim!. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  12. 1 2 Ivey, Justin (April 5, 2018). "Saba's "Care For Me" Is An Essential Listen In A Sea Of Disposable Music". HipHopDX. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  13. 1 2 Pearce, Sheldon (April 12, 2018). "Saba: CARE FOR ME". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  14. ↑ Thiessen, Christopher (May 10, 2018). "Saba Sends a Cry for Help for His Beloved Chicago on 'CARE FOR ME'". PopMatters. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  15. ↑ Watkins, Michael (June 6, 2018). "Saba: Care For Me (Saba Pivot, LLC.) review". Under the Radar. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  16. ↑ Hull, Tom (July 31, 2018). "Streamnotes". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
  17. ↑ Christgau, Robert (February 2, 2019). "Robert Christgau on Saba's Humanist Hip-Hop". Noisey. Vice. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  18. ↑ "The A.V. Club's 20 best albums of 2018". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  19. ↑ "50 Best Albums of 2018". Billboard. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  20. ↑ Kot, Greg. "Best rock and rap albums of 2018". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  21. ↑ "The Best Albums of 2018". Complex. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  22. ↑ "Top 50 Albums of 2018". Consequence of Sound.
  23. ↑ "The 50 Best Albums of 2018". NPR Music.
  24. ↑ "The Best Albums of 2018". Okayplayer.
  25. ↑ "70 Best Albums of 2018". PopMatters. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  26. ↑ Weingarten, Charles Aaron,Mankaprr Conteh,Jon Dolan,Will Dukes,Dewayne Gage,Joe Gross,Kory Grow,Christian Hoard,Jeff Ihaza,Julyssa Lopez,Mosi Reeves,Yoh Phillips,Noah Shachtman,Rob Sheffield,Simon Vozick-Levinson,Christopher R.; Aaron, Charles; Conteh, Mankaprr; Dolan, Jon; Dukes, Will; Gage, Dewayne; Gross, Joe; Grow, Kory; Hoard, Christian (2022-06-07). "The 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2022-06-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  27. ↑ "The 51 Best Albums of 2018". Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  28. ↑ "50 Best Albums Of 2018". Uproxx. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  29. ↑ "CARE FOR ME by SABA | Saba Pivot". Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  30. ↑ "Saba - CARE FOR ME Lyrics and Tracklist | Genius". Retrieved October 18, 2018.
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