From passing out mixtapes by the corner store, to being nominated for XXL’s Freshman Issue, Indie-Rapper SABA is continuously making breakthroughs as one of Chicago’s uprising artists.
Tahj Malik Chandler, or who you’ll see on your R&B playlists as “SABA,” is emerging in the soulful industry of both music and artistic liberation.
As an artist free from labels and signatures, SABA is his own boss- with this plane to himself, he’s capable of endless prolific capacity. For him, the art of music is the most vital attribute to fulfill the craft. During an interview late of 2017, he makes mention of his hometown, and this imaginative influence that is keeping artists like himself the most inspired.
He says,
“I think in Chicago right now, most people are worried more so about the art than the money part… Because we care so much about the art, we’re starting to see that money back. And I think that’s what a lot of people working now with me and the people around me are believing.”
Since his 2015 feature on poetic rapper Chance The Rapper’s single “Angels,” SABA has been keeping intact with these perceptive ideals, while progressing his musical career. Currently, he has a handful of his own projects, since his name first became notable to the public on Chance’s track. Spending his days touring and creating, he finds himself at peace with the idea that he has an open pursuit to generate just what he’d like, surrounded with what he believes in.
In the same interview, he discusses the competitive industry, and his lack of pressure to take part in the bandwagon.
He says,
“Being independent, sometimes it takes way longer to actually start to see a return, but that’s a matter of patience. You could be more popular than a lot of signed artists and just be on the Internet, touring, selling merch and stuff like that, so I think the rules have kind of changed a lot. But yeah, I don’t know. We’ve just been kind of winging it, honestly, and it’s been working out for us.”
With a positive perception on his work, and inventive eagerness to engage his platform with the world independently, SABA has the ability to give many young pursuing artists hope. Not only that, but the stories he shares behind his lyrics gives the younger generations desire, as it gives them the same ingenuity that SABA’s favorite artists gave him. Some of his top artists are Lupe Fiasco and Kanye West, two artists that hold a high level of public expressiveness.
Currently, SABA is on tour, and will be performing at major music festivals such as, Bonnaroo, Electric Forest, and Firefly. As I will be attending two of these festivals, I will most definitely be making it a priority to see one of his sets, and witness his profound persona first-hand.
Check out his latest album, “CARE FOR ME” on Spotify:
