Stanisland Magazine

The rapper’s limited new release, “Coffee!”, makes a fashionable entrance flared by no novelty

Saba remains a prolific artist whose consistent form and slow gives him an artistic edge.

The Chicago rapper recorded the project entirely in his Bronco Wildtrak truck. This time around, however, some stray threads have come loose.

Review and Verdict

Opening with a track that wasn’t my cup of tea (pun intended) due to its distorted, pitched autotune, it sets the scene for what is, by the rapper’s standards, a potholed body of work that gets marginally better — and mostly worse.

One of the stronger entries, Don’t be Long, stands in contrast to the tracklist. Layered with decayed, rolling snares against conversational, session-style-vocals, it’s compositionally in need of refinement. My Bro featuring Senite, is of a similar oeuvre, with an overextended reach. Similarly, Looking for Parking marks one of Coffees!’s lowest points — a skippable piece marred by an atrocious use of pitch-warping.

Today Years Old explores resilience, purpose, and the trade offs between mental exhaustion and productivity. Paired with an equally sharp video, there’s a reason it was chosen as the lead single.

Next comes Itachi, and, quite simply, it’s forgettable. It fails to connect the dots and for some reason, evokes visions of Yoko Ono screaming into her microphone.

The problem is, like a 2000s iTunes track preview, every song is cut short before it can begin. It’s abrupt — almost an insult to both producer and artist — and its potential is scuppered by a production sandbox. For the most part, it taps into an experimental motif, undermined by a tepid execution.

Thanks to a contribution from Maxx Moor, High Tides is a priority play thanks to a sonic fusion by the singer, whose vocals are a showpiece. It’s a simple yet effective demonstration, but it can’t save it alone.

The project falls within extended play territory and feels like a slap in the face for Saba fans. While it’s clear what he’s trying to do, it’s ultimately just a brief flirt with new music. If it contributes to future sounds, he can be afforded a pass.

Filled with radio play submission time spans, extended cuts would have been appreciated. Music fans still enjoy the pastime of listening, but Coffee! slips into the twilight of beginner cloud-rap runtimes.

The Verdict

Thank goodness for streaming, because there’s no way I’d buy a vinyl copy. Overall, it sounds like it was a largely rejected work from an early release.

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