Saba – “Ziplock” & “Rich Don’t Stop”
It’s been about three years since the hugely talented Chicago rapper Saba released his intensely emotional album Care For Me. Since then, rather than following up that album, Saba has been focusing on smaller problems: an album with his crew Pivot Gang, a single from the Ghetto Sage supergroup, a few one-off releases like the two songs he released in November, “So And So” and the tobi lou collab “Areyoudown? Pt. 2.” Today, Saba has come out with another one-off release — two tracks, united by one music video.
The new songs “Ziplock” and “Rich Don’t Stop” are both Saba functioning within his musical comfort zone. They’re both melodically rich and layered tracks with warm bass tones and mellow keyboard sounds. In both of them, Saba raps in tricky singsong flows, with lyrics about contemplating his own internal struggles. Both songs are about struggling up from nothing and about the weird feelings that come out of that journey.
The two tracks work as complementary companion pieces, and they’re both included in the same new music video. Director Ian Lipton shoots Saba on what appears to be a rooftop sculpture garden full of big, blocky shapes. Saba is the only person who appears in the videos, and they’ve got a sense of stillness to them, with lots of natural light and long, uninterrupted takes. Check out both tracks below.
D. Phelps and Coop The Truth produced “Ziplock,” while regular Saba collaborators Daoud and daedaePIVOT produced “Rich Don’t Stop.” In the video’s YouTube description, there’s a phone number and an invitation to text Saba.