We really do not get enough rap music at NeuFutur. While we scour other media outlets like XXL and try to keep current with a site like Mixtape Torrents, Sab had previously flown under our radar. However, we received a copy of “The Artist” a few days ago and have made sure it’s been stuck in our stereo since then. The disc starts up with “Lookin’ At Girls”, a single that will immediately remind listeners of Bubba Sparxxx or Paul Wall. From the beginning, listeners will hear that Sab has his rap game on lock – the flow is hot, the backing beats are sick, and he dispenses with the skit tracks that have been known to resign a number of otherwise-strong albums to the dustbin of history.
“Artsy Crafty” is slower than “Lookin at Girls”, but there seems to be some intelligence dropped on the track that is largely forgotten in most rap records that are actively being spun on Shade 45. “Just Wanna Have Fun” represents a stylistic change for Sab; where there was a more feisty and fast flow found on the first half of the disc, “Just Wanna Have Fun” is a track that braves the haze found on Cypress Hill or Kid Cudi albums. “Never Knew Her” is a track that looks way back to the days when Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac were tearing up charts. The darker sound of this track works perfectly with Sab’s flow. “Never Knew Her” takes the next step forward when Sab gets to the chorus.
With bars that will stick in listeners’ mind soon after they put down the disc, Sab should be seen as a dark horse for the best up and coming rapper of 2010. Where some other new artists (Big K.R.I.T., Wordsmith, and even Short Dawg) have absolutely been face-melting, the seven cuts on Sab’s “The Artist” will provide him enough singles to ride all the way out to 2011. If you dig rap at all, head on over to his Blogspot and see what he’s got going down.
Top Tracks: Lookin’ At Girls, Just Wanna Have Fun
Rating: 8.3/10
Sab – The Artist / 2010 Self / 7 Tracks / http://sabtheartist1.blogspot.com