Pivot Gang

Saba Is Joined By His Pivot Gang Comrades In The Moody ‘Come My Way’ Video With Krayzie Bone

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Chicago rapper Saba continues the rollout for his introspective new album Few Good Things with the video for the previously released single “Come My Way” featuring Krayzie Bone of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. The video is fairly straightforward, mostly featuring Saba rapping into the camera outdoors broken up by interior scenes of Saba rapping alongside the members of his Chicago-based crew, Pivot Gang. No stranger to the group dynamic, Krayzie Bone joins them like an unofficial sixth member as he raps his contribution to the reflective song.

The video for “Come My Way” follows the release of Saba’s short film, also titled Few Good Things, which echoed the theme expressed across the album and songs like “Come My Way”: Acknowledging the good things that make life worth living, even when horrible things are happening to make it seem like it’s not. That message has special resonance in light of the past year for Pivot Gang, who suffered the second death of a member when Squeak, the group’s DJ and producer, was shot to death in Chicago in August. The group previously lost member John Walt, Saba and Joseph Chilliams’ cousin, to a stabbing in 2017 and has commemorated him with their annual John Walt Day concert ever since.

Watch Saba’s “Come My Way” video above.

Few Good Things is out now via Pivot Gang LLC.

Saba Joins Fellow Pivot Gang Members MFnMelo And Squeak On ‘Mood Swing’

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In the wake of the death of Pivot Gang producer/DJ Squeak, the Chicago-based collective is preparing to release the deluxe edition of his and MFnMelo‘s June joint album, En Route. To mark the new release, Melo shared a new single, “Mood Swing,” which features fellow Pivot Gang members Saba, Joseph Chiliams, and Frsh Waters. It also features production by Squeak, Big Goose, and Daedae of Pivot Gang.

En Route‘s deluxe edition will mark the first release from Squeak since he was shot and killed in June this year. It’s set for release on December 9.

Melo remarked on the “weirdness” of promoting a new project while still mourning his late friend — especially a project produced by that friend. “Lately I’ve been having even less things to say,” he wrote on Instagram. “Not too many people get it but shorty did. Which makes this way harder. So understanding. So influential. So missed. This sh*t weird to promote anything right now honestly but I’d be damn if I didn’t follow thru with our plan! Finishing this was some of the hardest sh*t I had to do. But because of your love and belief, I stayed #ForeverEnRoute! You know what time it is bro and they soon will too!”

Listen to MFnMelo and Squeak’s “Mood Swing” featuring Saba above.

Joseph Chilliams Processes Recovering From A Traumatic Injury On ‘I Ain’t Been Outside’

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Pivot Gang rapper Joseph Chilliams has had a relatively quiet couple of years aside from releasing the Sen Morimoto collaboration “Wishlist” toward the end of 2020. Part of the reason is a traumatic injury he recently endured that left him unable to return as quickly as he wished in 2021. The Chicago-bred rapper explains what happened on a new track, “I Ain’t Been Outside,” which describes the harrowing experience of both the initial event and his long road to recovery.

“Got sucker punched with a gun,” he tweeted, sharing the track to his followers. “I have a plate in my face forever now. Made a song about trying to recover.” On the downtempo track, he describes being put on narcotic painkillers, looking like Kanye (who suffered a broken jaw in a car crash in 2002), and losing weight as a result of “struggling to eat.” Even after being released from the hospital, he had to process light sensitivity and looking “out of place hopping around” on his way to the strip club with the rest of the Pivot Gang. “PTSD, pretty sure I need therapy,” he admits, “But tonight I’m just vibing at a party with my n****s and my shorty as I sing along merrily.”

Unfortunately, Joseph’s injury wasn’t the only tragedy the Pivot Gang suffered this year. In August, the group’s producer Squeak was shot to death in the North Austin neighborhood of Chicago at the age of 26. Hopefully, Joseph has a speedy recovery and the crew can get back on track after their triumphant 2019.

Pivot Gang Producer Squeak Has Reportedly Died At The Age Of 26

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MFNMelo and Squeak (front)
Michael Salisbury

Chicago indie rap crew Pivot Gang mourns the loss of their producer and friend Squeak, who has died of as-yet-unknown causes at 26, as confirmed by Pitchfork through the group’s representative. Squeak was one of the group’s three producers along with Daedae and Daoud, crafting beats for the group’s first group album You Can’t Sit With Us in 2019, as well as for its individual members Frsh Waters, Joseph Chilliams, MFnMelo, and Saba. Most recently, he and MFnMelo released En Route, an eight-song EP featuring Rexx Life Raj, in June.

Squeak also doubled as DJ for the group’s live shows, including their 2019 John Walt Day concert in Chicago in honor of another of the group’s fallen members who was killed in February of 2017. Squeak also engineered for the group, recording the offerings that allowed them to go from an upstart crew of rap freshmen at the tail end of the blog era to a fixture of Chicago’s flourishing rap scene.

Squeak’s passing drew a wave of appreciative and sorrowful tweets from that scene, as well as many from outside it, as friends, fans, and peers mourned his loss. Among the well-wishers was Chance The Rapper, who came up alongside Pivot member Saba in a student creative group in high school and recorded with him on his 2016 mixtape Coloring Book. Rest in peace, Squeak. You’ll be missed.