Since no big albums were released this week, I thought it would be a perfect time to take a look at one of my favorite albums recently. This album is Saba’s “CARE FOR ME.” 

Released in 2018, this was Saba’s sophomore album. I personally found it back in 2022 and have loved it ever since. Without further ado, let’s get into the review. 

Before we talk about Saba’s performance, it’s important to get to know the background of the album. The project is dedicated to his late cousin, who was fatally stabbed in 2017. “CARE FOR ME” is an introspective piece that centers around how Saba was emotionally and mentally after his loss. 

With that being said, I admire Saba’s performance all across the album much, most importantly on tracks like “BUSY/SIRENS” and “PROM/KING.” These two songs alone convey so much emotion that they nearly made me cry, especially “PROM/KING” as it tells the story that led to Saba’s cousin passing away. 

Building off of this, the content of each song ties greatly into the overall theme of Saba’s mental state at the time. We have songs like “BROKEN GIRLS” that tells the listener that he always looked into the wrong girls for the wrong reasons, adding to his mental torment, “SMILE” which tells the listener that Saba wished for a life of peace ever since he was a child, and “PROM/KING,” which told the story of how Saba got closer with his cousin and how he was eventually taken away from Saba by the fatal stabbing. All of these tracks wonderfully tell the listener why Saba is how he is following his cousin’s passing. 

Saba’s vocals, lyricism, and flow throughout the entire album is superb. From front to back, his lyrics are never lacking. If you were to look up Genius’s annotations for the album, each song has quite a lot of lyrics annotated, showing that Saba crafted intricate lyrics that allow listeners to dive deep into each song’s true meaning. 

Without a great flow, I’d say that songs can be unlistenable. With that being said, Saba’s flow throughout each song is great, even offering multiple switches of his flow in order to keep listeners engaged and on their toes. It’s easy to say that Saba’s performance was a key factor to the success of this record.

With only three features on the album, it’s important that each one is carefully implemented into the tracklist in order to not feel out of place and so they’re used to their greatest potential.

First, we have theMIND on “BUSY/SIRENS.” I’m personally not too crazy about his verse to close out the “BUSY” portion of the track, but it still does wrap up the half of the song nicely. It adds onto Saba’s softness throughout his two verses and the chorus and even gets listeners ready for the softer “SIRENS” part of the song. 

Next is KAINA’s feature off of “FIGHTER.” While her inclusion in the track is miniscule, it’s still a nice addition to the song. Her vocals are layered with Saba’s on the chorus and that’s it. I find it more odd that she received a mention on the track credits more than anything else.

Lastly, we have the feature of “CARE FOR ME,” Saba’s cousin. At the end of “PROM/KING,” his cousin provides the listener with an outro. The alone fact that he’s on the album at all is heartbreaking and leaves listeners emotional. At the end of the outro, the line “I just hope I make it ‘til tomorrow–” is repeated numerous times. This severely adds to the emotions being created after knowing that he has passed since saying these lines. 

While each feature is small compared to the rest of the album, each and every one does provide a more than positive addition to the album.

Next, we have the production that supports Saba on each track. I for one love each instrumental on each song. I apologize for heavily praising the same tracks again, but both portions of “BUSY/SIRENS” and “PROM/KING” offer wonderful beats that pair perfectly with the atmosphere of the album. 

As for “BUSY/SIRENS,” the first half opens up the album with a somber tone which pairs with Saba’s tone well. The second half slowly transitions from the first and offers an even slower, melancholic sound. I truly cannot put words to it, but the production on this song, the “SIRENS” portion more so, is beyond amazing. 

For “PROM/KING” the first half offers yet another sad tune to pair with the content matter of the track, being about Saba’s life before he started making music. As the song progresses into the “KING” half, the beat gets upbeat and allows Saba to be cheerful. This is his opportunity to celebrate his cousin’s life instead of being down all the time because of it. The outro track even follows suit after this shift and offers a more upbeat instrumental to yet again celebrate. 

With all of this being accounted for, I believe that the production on this album is great.

Lastly, is the album worth revisiting even after various listens? I obviously say yes. 

Ever since 2022, this album has constantly found its way back into my listening rotation. This is for a good reason too. 

Throughout the album, we find the theme of Saba finding ways to grow from his former self as he’s coping from his cousin’s death. This alone allows many listeners to be enticed to listen, and continue to listen over and over again, because so many people have had to deal with death. I personally have revisited this album quite a bit earlier this year when we had a death in the family, just as a way to cope. 

Besides this, each track contains lyrics that many will miss the point of on their first listen. This allows true music enjoyers to relisten to each song and really get the whole message. 

On top of this, while the entire album does offer a soft sound, each track does have its defining features, which lets the listener not get bored as they go through the tracklist. 

To back this up even more, the album only offers 10 tracks, totaling to 44 minutes. I believe that this is the perfect length for an album. Not too long in the grand scheme of things, especially in today’s world, and just the right amount of tracks so each listen doesn’t end with boredom. 

With this, the album is beyond replayable.

Between Saba’s excellent performance, the fine-picked features, to the cloudy instrumentals and even the replayability of the album, it’s easy to give props to “CARE FOR ME.” Saba’s second studio album gets a 9 out of 10.