Saba’s Ascension Continues @ Slim’s, San Francisco 5/3 [Event Review]

Chicago natives Saba and Joseph Chilliams came through San Francisco this past Thursday night as a stop in Saba’s Care for Me tour. The two co-founders of Pivot Gang, an independent music collective, delivered electric performances in front of an all-ages audience from all over the Bay Area. The show marked Saba’s first return to San Francisco since his Bucket List tour in early 2017. Concertgoers that had attended the 2017 show remarked upon the noticeable improvement in his stage presence and live chops.

Saba reppin for San Francisco

Early opening support for the show came from Chicago compatriot Jean Deaux (check out that wordplay), who later returned to perform the track “Photosynthesis”, a track on which she features. Joseph Chilliams, who happens to be Saba’s brother, took over soon after. Chilliams presented tracks from his debut album Henry Church, named solely for the English translation of Enrique Iglesias’ name. The rest of Chiliams’ set was similarly “tongue-in-cheek”, with plenty of references to eating “groceries”. Chilliams’ set could best be described as a celebration of self and sex. His upbeat attitude and stage presence reflected those of an artist with much to celebrate– expect to be hearing much more from this guy in the near future.

Joseph Chilliams, Pivot Gang cofounder

Donning a topically conscious Kaepernick jersey in San Francisco, Saba blessed us with a relevant display of passion and emotion, drawn from his youth in westside Chicago. The 23 year-old showed why he’s the unofficial frontman of Pivot Gang by captivating the audience with a solid hour’s worth of bars. He let on some signs of an artist that’s still really coming into his own, occasionally seeming surprised at the audience’s familiarity with his discography. Attendees responded with reckless enthusiasm for older tracks like “World in my Hands” and “Westside Bound”, while “LIFE” off of his most recent album Care for Me was undoubtedly the floor-shaking highlight of the night. After two solid album releases in Bucket List and Care for Me and resounding live performances such as Thursday night’s, you can’t help but be excited for things to come from Saba.

Don’t miss out on the chance to see Saba live. You can find the rest of his tour dates here.

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[Hip-Hop] 119 Productions & THE FDC – THE C.S.S. (Chicago Sight N’ Sound)

Chicago Sight N’ Sound is an ambitious endeavor between 119 Productions & The FDC meant to showcase the city’s best and brightest up-and-comers. Plenty of familiar faces are scattered throughout the two-part project, including Mick Jenkins, Lucki Eck$, Saba, The O’My’s, Kami De Chukwu, Jean Deaux, Ibn Inglor, Smoko Ono, Jarred AG, Dally Auston, Martin $ky and many more. The C.S.S. takes advantage of some of these more well established names to introduce listeners to some newer talent they may have never even heard of, which is essentially is the true goal of this undertaking. In fact, some of the project’s best moments come from artists who may have never crossed your radar before.

Along with the mixtapes which make up the “Sound” portion of the project, there’s also a visual aspect which can be found on 119’s official website. After checking out the full scope of The C.S.S, it’s pretty clear that the teams over at 119 Productions and The FDC poured their heart and soul into making this project possible, and it’s not a stretch to say this is one of the most important projects to come out of the Chi all year, if only to show that the city can really unite together as one.

We’ve selected a few of our favorites from both mixtapes below, but we encourage you to check them out in their entirety over at the Chicago Sight N’ Sound SoundCloud page.

Part 1

’SABA PIVOT – SABILLION (Prod. By A Billion Young)’
’THE O’MY’S X ENCYCLOPEDIA BROWN – THE BLUNT (Prod. The O’My’s + C. Lang)’
’PSALM ONE – TIMELESS (Prod. Benny Nice)’
’JARRED AG
MUHFUCKA (Prod. Smoko Ono)’
’DALLY AUSTON – FOOD N’ LIQUOR (Produced By Boathouse)’

 

Part 2

’MICK JENKINS – TIME (Prod. OnGaud)’
’VIA ROSA / theMIND / NETHERFRIENDS – SIGNS (Produced By Netherfriends)’
’JEAN DEAUX / NOSIDAM – UNCOND. LOVE (Prod. AmbI Lyrics)’
’鷹SÄGESHINTENDŌ鷹 – UCHIHA SEJI (Prod. 鷹SÄGESHINTENDŌ鷹)’
’PIVOT GANG – FUZZY SLIPPERS (Prod. By Saba)’
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Smoko Ono – Pass The Flame (Feat. Jarred A.G., Saba & Sterling Hayes) [TMN PREMIERE]

Smoko Ono
Pass The Flame ft. Jarred A.G. x Saba x Sterling Hayes

Yesterday I mentioned how we couldn’t get enough of the Chicago hip-hop scene, and today we have yet another prime example why. Last we heard from Smoko Ono, he was teaming up with his big brother Jarred A.G. to produce the psychedelic heater, “So I Go.” The duo collaborate once again for a satisfyingly gritty cut alongside fellow Chitown residents, Saba and Sterling Hayes. “Pass The Flame” lives up to its title, as the triumvirate exchange scorching verses potent enough to make Smokey The Bear shoot a new PSA about the dangers of playing with fire. The single promises to be the first of many bangers from Smoko’s upcoming compilation, Smoko and Friends, due out early next year.

(Artwork by JC Rivera)

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