RSSSchizophrenic Tenant
Saafir – “Battle Drill”
Saafir – “Light Sleeper“
from Boxcar Sessions (Qwest, 1994)
Saafir – “Killen Kids“
from Unreleased Boxcar Sessions (Hobo Records, 2002)
Oakland’s Saafir is the epitome of an industry tragedy. Really one of the most talented cats to ever do it. And he’s been chewed up and spit out by rule #4080. This album flopped commercially and then he continued to falter – trying to put on too many of his boys (let’s be honest, the Hobos are alright, but that’s about it) and making pitiful commercial compromises. The last I heard he was demoted to a cameo “acting” in a 50 Cent video (edit – his appearance is not to be confused with a “cameo”, which would imply that he was there for some sort of external artistic merit. I’d be surprised if 50 was aware of his notable history as a rapper. Nope, this was an acting gig). As I understand it, he’s retired from rapping for ever. And, sadly, the game isn’t calling him back the way it is Jay, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Saafir made good on that promise.
But we’ll always have this record. Boxcar Sessions launched a full scale assault, trampling low fidelity jazz loops with the scattershot baritone that stole the show on Digital Underground’s Body Hat Syndrome and Casual’s Fear Itself (eventually fueling the now legendary Hiero vs. Hobo Beef).
It’s mostly the voice. And holy shit, homie sounds like he could swallow the fucking planet. It doesn’t matter where the beat is going, he’s kicking it over and making his own path. This is the key to pulling off the unorthodox flow. Where many nerdy white kids have adopted the off beat style pioneered by the likes of the Saucy Nomad and Freestyle Fellowship, their asthmatic nasally voices just do not make the cut.
here’s an excerpt from a source interview around the time this record came out:
What do you flow on when it comes to lyrics now?
“Rhythm. I see images in my head and I copy them in rhymes… getting concepts from humor and pain. It’s all about imagination: slow it down like a washing machine or speed it up to a spiral. I’m not going to follow a pattern off a beat, i’m not gonna follow a pattern off a beat, I’m gonna follow a pattern off my mind… like the way Volume 10 does. You can’t catch his patterns at all. That’s how you know a rhymer is a titan.”
Let’s talk about your debut album and the many different messages you send out
“The ‘message’ that I’m giving on this album is ‘fuck you’… because I know nobody is going to understand it.”
40 Comments, Comment or Ping
generaljohnoakland
Back in 1995 I was a hip-hop DJ at KSCU Santa Clara University and Saafir came through with his manager. It was definitely the most interesting meeting I ever had with any hip-hop artist coming through the studio. Right before me was a radio show by two guys, one of whom was doing something with Loud at the time, so a lot of people came through to their show. But I was playing straight trip-hop music. At the time this stuff had just come out, Portishead, Unkle, Mo’Wax, etc. It had not even hit the car commercials yet. I remember that we were playing this stuff and Saafir was still around and he came back in, him and his manager took ALL my records and Fed-Exed them back to me the next day. I remember that he kicked some flows over an Unkle picture disc I had, the Major Force EP. This still blows my mind as these were the most avant-garde hip hop records you could get at the time (DJ shadow was just coming out with blackalicious on swan lake, etc) and Saafir heard them and when right into them viciously. Where’s the tape… I suck for not taping it.
Jun 24th, 2005
Philipp
Thanks for the post. He¥s being underesteemated.
Jun 24th, 2005
TSF
Thanks noz, I gotta cop this shit, I always liked his Golden State flow off of 3 Card Molly, (”Keep tryin’ to go gold/ but all you’re gettin’ is golden showers”!!?) but then I never heard from him again.
Jun 24th, 2005
emil
Regardless of present tense, Saafir is always and forever king.
-e
Jun 24th, 2005
emil
By the way, you catering your blog to me now? First dip-set shit and then saafir? Hmmm… suspect.
I love how the Saafir vocals sample on the hook of this shit sounds like the Zentraedi voices from Robotech.
-e
Jun 24th, 2005
Aurich
Box Car Sessions is hands down one the top 10 hip hop records ever. Top 5 in my book. Unfortunately Saafir was right, no one, practically speaking, did understand it. He definitely got some love in the Bay, Just Ridin’ was a minor hit, but I’m not sure many people were checking him outside of his home turf. I’m not much of a ‘collector’, as far as having rare shit just to have it, but I won’t tell you what I paid Rasta Cue Tip for a copy of the promo only double vinyl of Boxcar.
Unfortunately, as often happens with a slept on classic, the follow-up’s attempt to right what wasn’t wrong (see Aceyalone post Book of Human Language for a less sad example) was a train wreck. The Hit List was written and recorded in 2 weeks and showed every second of it. It just went downhill from there for the most part. Maybe Boxcar was just destined to be a lone album that could never be topped.
There’s probably about and album’s worth of B-sides (Pull Ya Card, Bones in the Closet, Rock the Show, Birthday Suit etc), demo cuts (I have an older version of Killen Kids than this one off the Unreleased EP for example, though rough quality), and unreleased gems (Westbound, Baller Flesh, the OG version of Stay High pre-Mr. No No) from the Boxcar era but that will have to hold fans like me forever I think. There were some good cuts later on like In A Vest or the ‘remix’ to Just Ridin, maybe even Scandlous, but those were the swan songs.
My man Kegs produced Eyecue’s solo album, and it was cool, but didn’t capture even a 10th of the previous Hobo energy. WTF happened to Rashinel putting out a solo?
Jun 24th, 2005
from the yay
cool cat,…he was too advanced for his time,plus quest did’nt know what they were doin so…
Jun 24th, 2005
T. Long
How dare anyone imply that the Hobos, especially Eyecue, are “alright, and that’s it”….
Jun 24th, 2005
faux_rillz
Very good observation about Saafir having the vocal authority to make the style work.
Jun 24th, 2005
Jesse Thorn
Saafir was at the Sway & Tech Back to Basics show in San Francisco… they harangued him into doing a few verses acapella. He did some stuff about Islam, which apparently is a big reason he’s not rapping anymore.
Jun 25th, 2005
lamin
aesop rock is one of those nerdy white kids that adopted the flow. i remember back in ‘99 when aesop rock was just coming out. when i heard aesop’s “music for earthworms”, i thought he was seriously ripping saafir. later in an interview somewhere, aesop rock credited saafir as one of his biggest influences.
Jun 25th, 2005
Jay Sea
Saafir is no joke……I am and East coast kid, so this was some of the first West Coast shit I got on other than NWA and Eazy…….
Actually, I remember first seeing the “Light Sleeper” on Yo! MTV Raps one Fri nite….
Yo! used to be my shit……Isnt it crazy how I acually got some key knowledge from MTV…..tney got nuttin going now………
Jun 25th, 2005
noz
although i don’t really like his recent shit, i’d say that aesop rock kinda has a dope voice. he is definitely saafir influenced. but i’m talking about the aliases pedestrians of the world. those kids need to quit.
i really don’t think the hobo cats are bad, i’ve just never been inclined to check for their solo work.
the crazy inverted floating saafir head from the light sleeper video is probably the finest example of a crappy mid 90s rap video special effect ever. friday night yo! (no mtv raps) was my shit.
Jun 25th, 2005
jose g.r.
“Etimes2″ out the L.A. underground also borrow from Saafir heavily, if you can’t get enough of the off-on flow. I got alot of their unreleased shit too…
“Unreleased Boxcar Sessions” has the Light Sleeper (Original) track which should be owned by everybody who likes the “Boxcar Sessions” CD, trust…
“The Cleaners” by Hobo Junction was tight too, mainly the Big Nous tracks. I love it cuz Big Nous sounds alot like Biggie to me kind of, without trying…
“The Black Album” by Hobo Junction was whatever, but the last song on that CD was the best posse cut they ever did…
Jun 25th, 2005
r
i remember seeing Saafir doing an in store at Leopolds in Berkeley. he ends up performing outside of the store and starts clowning Bay Area artists that are on NY’s dick…he says he got boo’d in NY for throwing up the W…his persona was in full effect.
he also was the executive producer to the Whorida’s major release (they had a few songs on the radio). the two people i know that know Saafir say that he just got lost somewhere along the way. he got booted from an Aftermath tour, the GSW album never materializes, and even the Whorida’s disapear.
it hurts to see cats like Saafir and Pharoah not being heavily embraced, and frankly they should be well paid. there’s very few that see and make music like they do/did.
Jun 25th, 2005
Damien
I heard Saafir was recording with Josef Leimberg…hopefully, he’ll release a new album soon.
Jun 25th, 2005
noz
ehh… i’m not completely sold on leimberg’s beats, but i’ll be glad to have saafir back (plus that probably means more mikah 9 collabs!)
Jun 25th, 2005
Big Surge
leimberg’s beats are garbo…but i hope they improve if he’s gonna work with saafir. aesop rock does have a good voice…and he’s not a nerdy white kid. he gets too much of the hate because he got too much quirky adoration.
i was just watching saafir in the come widdit video and he’s hovering and spinning in that jammy too. good post aurich…i don’t know some of those songs and i thought i knew me some saafir.
Jun 26th, 2005
Aurich
I don’t know Leimberg, though a quick Google shows I’ve heard him, I have Myka’s Work In Progress. Truthfully though, it’s pretty much too late for Saafir I think. I have no idea WTF he went through, but his new lyrics are pretty much garbage, his flow is dumbed down, and I don’t like what he done with his voice (like he’s trying too hard to make it deep, he had such a dope voice, WTF was he thinking?). Mikah 9 and Saafir should have been gold, but neither of them are what they once were. I’m pretty much a hardcore Saafir fan (thanks Big Surge), and even I don’t think it can happen.
Maybe if Saafir hooked up with someone with some real vision who could give him not only the proper beats, but the confidence to spit some shit that’s not watered down. No idea who that would be. What ever happened to Mix Master Mike and Saafir getting down years ago?
Come Widdit was cool, but IMHO the best guest verse that Saafir ever kicked was on Shape Shiftaz by Key Kool & Rhettmatic. It’s obvious the lyrics were pretty much written on the spot, but it shows that even his quickie shit could have ripped so much harder than the BS Hit List nonsense sellout crap. Not that I’m bitter. ;)
Jun 26th, 2005
Big Surge
[Maybe if Saafir hooked up with someone with some real vision who could give him not only the proper beats, but the confidence to spit some shit that's not watered down. No idea who that would be. What ever happened to Mix Master Mike and Saafir getting down years ago?]
^true, saafir has been disappointing lately but i think if he had proper inspiration he could get it done. might be too late though as you said.
i was always quietly hoping that the labtekwon/saafir *date rape* project would have came to be…damn. they could’ve built off each other nicely.
Jun 27th, 2005
Damien
I can’t wait for another Saafir/Myka collab’
Jun 27th, 2005
dame
major knock, I’m going home, etc..
anyone have those saafir mp3’s?
Jun 27th, 2005
noz
Personally, I can’t wait for another Saafir/Mya Collabo
(anyone remember that video?)
Jun 27th, 2005
Monalisa
Mr No No “Trigonometry” and Hobo Junction’s “The Cleaners” were both tight albums, and Smart Bomb from the Hit List (the song with the video game samples in it) was tight too.
Jun 28th, 2005
ILL
Don’t sleep on the Hit List! That shit got some heaters on it.
ILL
Jun 28th, 2005
Alvin FUCK
Please someone MP3 up that Unreleased Boxcar CD – I can’t get that shit over here in England…
I’ll return with some MP3 action back atcha.
Never forget that promo-only 12″ with ‘Rock The Show’ on as well.
And that Plan Bee 12″ with ‘Runnin’ From 5-0′… heat!
Jun 30th, 2005
Nemanja
Best Post Ever
Jun 30th, 2005
flatblackplastic
theres a really good remix of light sleeper out right now. i got it from http://www.atakworldwide.com
heres the description:
Henboogie (The Dereliks) vs. KegsOne 7″ feat. Dave Dub, Zest, Saafir remix $6.00
one side is two ok instrumental tracks and on the other side is a track with zest and dave dub which is alright i guess, the last track is the light sleeper remix, which is pretty damn dope if you ask me.
Jun 30th, 2005
noz
damn i didn’t even know atak still existed
Jul 1st, 2005
Anonymous
Paul, the owner of ATAK, moved to Southern Cali last year, but he’s still throwing down. That 7″ is pretty hard to cop, I think there were only 500 pressed, I really should rip my copy.
Jul 2nd, 2005
Lewis
Thanks Noz, without a doubt Saafir is one of the true greats who never got his proper shine. BTW, did anyone ever see a documentary on Saafir/Hobo that I think was produced by one of the Bay Area PBS stations? Or was that a dream I had?
Jul 3rd, 2005
grammar gasper
saafir isn’t completely retired; he appears on the substance abuse album “overproof,” dropping sometime soon thru threshold.
Jul 8th, 2005
Curt McGirt
Saafir is dope as hell and cant be duplicated on the mic. Actually for some strange reason I seem to run into him Alot in Oakland at various places and events. I dont know if he will come back to rap but it was good to see him represent on stage at the Sway and Tech show in S.F.
Jul 13th, 2005
neal
He was also in a movie with Mark 7 and bunch of other chuckers called “Sweet Potato Pie” it was a rip on “American Pie” but in the ghetto, the movie was really, really bad, it looked like it was made on my personal paycheck (which is jack shit). But it was funny bad, I was high as fuck and laughed my ass off. He also used to hang out with Mixmaster Mike (who’s the fucking man) maybe they hang out too much, Mike is kinda crazy. Anyhow, it’s too bad his career went fucking south his voice sounds like a rappers body being dragged over wet gravel, at least that’s the image I always thought of.
Jul 18th, 2005
Rashinel hobO junction
Saafir and HobOjunction are in the LAb working on The new material. Rashinel And Eye cue had an album out call “Industrial Strenght PeopLe”
Jul 24th, 2005
Whisper
Just to let everyone know Saafir is one of the all time greatest rappers hands down. i have neva met anyone like him before. Damn, i miss him. Either way, he better come back cause personally i feel tha rap game needs him, and what!
Aug 12th, 2005
extrafixomic
It’s difficult to make a good description of Saafir
But I know one thing
His Hip Hop is really done by the earth
I imagine sometimes what could he think when he was behind the microphone?
Dropping flowing that ill verses rhymes mind style
that man create his own swing
I’m young & french 16 years old mc
I discover Hip Hop at 11 years old and till now I’m 100/100in with my crew Escamotage
Please I serch 1rst Plan B & Saafir feat Pooh-Man 1rst records
Quest 4 survival & runnin’ from 5-0
And someone can send me please the link of
“Come Widdit” (Ahmad,Ras Kass,Saafir) video clip
http://www.extrafixomic.skyblog.com
http://www.oloqostgreen.skyblog.com
extrafixomic@hotmail.com
Peace to all hip hop fanatiks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Aurevoir
Aug 25th, 2006
extrafixomic
Yo Rashinel wussup
I have “Industrial strenght peaple” the album with Eye Cue. Great work good luck
It’s funny
I make a dream after looking the video of Light Sleeper
A very strange dream like the video
And it inspirate me to make a song with Trains & cases
I make a shoot out to Hobo Jonction in my song & in french
Peace to Hobo Junction
If you make a new album you can contact me at:
extrafixomic@hotmail.com
Yo
Aug 25th, 2006
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