Saba has an incredibly deep understanding of how words work and the journey they take listeners on. The backbone of his creations, his crafty and quick witted storytelling details the multitudes life itself has to offer. Few Good Things is overflowing with moments of crystal clear reflection and muddied rememberances, with the closing track (of the same name) wrapping the package in a complex bow. To assist with the send off, Saba enlists legendary rhyme tactician Black Thought and Eryn Allen Kane’s soulful sonics.
Tariq Trotter, better known as Black Thought, is a man of mythical status among those that have a reverence for rap ability. In a Thanos like fashion, Thought has acquired all of hip hop’s most sought after attributes over the course of his long voyage through music history. The leading voice of the highly esteemed Roots crew, time and time again he’s delivered doses of reality so vivid, the tales seem almost superhumanly relatable. His verse on “Few Good Things” comed with the same power and prowess he’s established and grown with time.
Saba’s closing remarks on the track get even more raw and unfilitered, stripping back the instrumentation to speak directly from the soul. The trade offs of pursuing a career in the field he’s in have weighed heavily on his conscience, while constantly providing his family with their means for survival. The album alternates his appreciation for his blessings, while also opting for an inside look at the negative perspective found in expanded optics. “Few Good Things” encapsulates everything the album entails, as expected from an appropriately named closer.
Quotable Lyrics
We adjusted like a tailor making alterations,
Altercations in an Austin neighborhood was all for paper,
Groupthink, swear that it was all contagious,
How we all complacent? I said f*ck it, ‘I’m all in’ like I was off to Vegas