Chicago rapper Saba pulled out all the stops, personnel-wise, for his performance at the NPR Tiny Desk, which arrived yesterday.
His setlist consisted of “Busy/Sirens,” “Logout” and a medley of “Heaven All Around Me” and “Life,” all from his new album, CARE FOR ME, released earlier in April.
“Fun fact, everyone up here was involved in the album,” he told the crowd when introducing his eight-person strong backing band. “It felt right to bring that same energy.” But one very special guest stood out: Saba’s own father, the R&B singer Chandlar.
MY TINY DESK IS DROPPING OCTOBER 1ST. I BROUGHT EVERYONE WHO WORKED ON ‘CARE FOR ME’… OH YEAH, AND I ALSO BROUGHT MY DAD pic.twitter.com/2KgLQWnq1W
— SABA (@sabaPIVOT) September 28, 2018
The result of all that talent in the room? A top-notch 15-minute performance, perfectly calibrated to the Tiny Desk’s sunny, communal environs. Though Saba was rapping about dislocation, police brutality and the fear of premature death, he did it all with a smile on his face.
Watch Saba’s Tiny Desk concert below:
