The Chicago-born rapper, Saba took to Instagram this week to announce Few Good Things, the long-awaited follow-up to his 2018 album, Care for Me. Just a day later, Saba came through with the project’s first single “Fearmonger,” featuring his frequent collaborator Daoud.
In support of the record’s release, Saba penned a lengthy message to fans, explaining the inspiration behind the single as well as his state of mind when he created it.
“I’ve never made a record that sounded anything like this and part of the fun of releasing music is to create worlds sonically and have people trust you to show them around your own imagination,” the letter read in part.
“At the time of making this record I was beginning to realize how big of a hold fear’s actually had on me. With big decisions to make, I was never sure if I was doing the right thing. Fearing if I was actually doing enough. Fear had become something that I just accepted. No longer trying to overcome it. Fear of losing everything. Fear of failure. Fear of not being enough.”
Saba went on to say the song primarily deals with the fear surrounding money, which he says is quite common in Black households.
“Being from a long line of poverty is not a new story, but it does come with its own traumas and judgements that can make our relationship to success feel like it’s never enough,” he continued. “It’s embedded into us from our upbringing so we spend our adulthood trying our best to unlearn it. It becomes you holding on to a dollar afraid to spend it or share it because you don’t know if it’s your last one.”
Of generational wealth, he says, “there is no family line or trust fund or rich grandparent that can help you. If you hit the bottom, it’s just that. The same way that your parents were, and the same way their parents were. I know if I fall back down ain’t no one there to lend me rope.”
You can listen to “Fearmonger” now on all major platforms, including YouTube above. And be sure to stay tuned as more details about Few Good Things become available.
