Saba's Bucket List Project was one 2016's most promising debuts, and his follow-up "CARE FOR ME" keeps the momentum going. "SMILE" is a cut from the album that demonstrates all of Saba's strengths at once. It illustrates the often hard times in his youth with seamless imagery and conversational storytelling, leading to daydreams about simpler days where he'll vacation in the south with a grin on his face. His rapped verses are delivered with emotional urgency, building to the euphoric sung hook where inhibitions are let go. His performance is something to marvel at, but doing so for too long might mean that you miss some clever world-building lines (Life, I be takin' for granted, capture the moment, the Canon / My cousin be trappin', it came in the mail / I sat him down, asked his plan, he said, "This shit sell itself" / Grandma say, "What is that smell?" / We turn to Boomhauer like we on King of the Hill").
Listen to the full project, which features a collaboration with Chance The Rapper, here.
Quotable Lyrics
Sweet west side Chicago
Two-flat apartment
Red brick and garden
That's been forgotten
Grass all splotchy
Vacant lot splotchy, bank account splotchy
And we talk like we from the south
Our parents' parents from the south
And if I make a million dollars
I'll vacation in the south