This 12" is the flagship for the comeback of Sah-B that never quite got off the ground. You'll note she's changed her name to Sakinah "Sah-B" Britton... she'd later drop the "Sah-B" completely. Anyway, this came out in 1998 on Born Hustlers... it's kinda rare now, but probably not all that expensive, because I don't think it's been all that sought after. I reckon this cassette version, which comes in a plain white cardboard sleeve, is even rarer:
The first song is called "The Freestyle" and lives up to its name. Sah-B rocks over a number of crowd-pleasing beats from that period, like Camron's "357" with the Magnum PI loop, MOP & Jay-Z's "4 Alarm Blaze" that took the "Eye Of the Tiger" beat and the "Ruff Ryders' Anthem". .. You know: "Stop! Drop! Shut 'em down; open up shop." Ha ha This is a real artifact of its day. There's no producer credited, presumably because the "guest DJ," DJ A.P. - who does some really nice cutting throughout this record, including a few points where he gets to do solos on the tables - is just flipping instrumentals on the spot. Sah-B's pretty dope here, kicking fairly hardcore freestyle rhymes over each beat - not up to her classic, "Some Ol' Sah-B Shit," but you'll definitely have a good time - as much thanks to the DJ as the MC. Plus, it's impressive how she just keeps on flowing and flowing on this long track.
"There's a lotta corny people
In this industry
Tryin' to get me to sell my soul
In exchange for going gold
Five hundred thousand units sold
I call them the devil
Operatin' on the corporate level
I speak against them
They call me a rebel
Whatever, man
I'm doin' it properly
There's no stoppin' me
I'm God's property
I've got the remedy
For those who wanna be an enemy
You ain't offendin' me
When you pretend to be
Less than my fan
Left me dead and strand
When I was reachin' out to you
You wouldn't grab my hand
Damn!
Shit...
I'm not supposed to be bitter?
I watched you like a babysitter
Become a bullshitter
If bullshit was power
You could rule the world
Try to play me like a girl
I'm every woman
It's all in me
Until infinity
Keep my head high,
Walk with dignity
I was tailor-made
To get paid, true indeed
In high school
I was voted most likely to succeed
Sweat and bleed
You gotta control ya greed
Be hungry
For what you want ain't always what you need
Watch where you be
A flower in bloom
Could soon become a weed
As I take the lead
These cats can't hurt me
Sah-B signing out
Arrivederci
And it don't stop
One, two, and it don't stop
Sah-Bdee
Up in this piece with DJ APdee
Doin' this Born Hustlers style"
...And that's just one verse.
The first of the two b-sides is produced by Lord Jazz, and its very much like his work for LOTUG's Undaground Buttas 12"s: simple, even a bit under-produced, but solid enough to support some really dope rhymes. But these rhymes are just i-ight, so all in all, it's an underwhelming effort. There's a cool violin sample that they sneak in every so often, and we get some nice cuts from Lord Jazz, though nothing as exciting as the A-side. Sah-B sounds a little more subdued (I guess she'd say "mature") on this record, which is definitely to her detriment.
The second b-side, "Tonight," sounds like some typical studio-fare, with familiar samples and an R&B chorus... it's a slow song and a bit dated, even for '98. It almost sounds like it could be a leftover from her unreleased Epic album. That said, it's not that bad. If you can tolerate this style of song, it's well done - producer DJ Backspin sounds at home handling this kind of production work, and Sah swaps the freestyling for some smart, semi-narrative rhymes... this is essentially her "Summa Day" part two.
Now, this is my third Sah-B post (see here and here), so we've covered all that "where is she now"-type stuff. I'd still very much like to know if she ever recorded her full Some Ol' Sah-B Shit album (if so, who's got them in their vault?), or even if there are just a couple other tracks from that era waiting to someday be released. Maybe if we pester K-Def enough,he'll give us a definitive answer. But until then, stay tuned... there'll definitely be some more posts on Sah-B's comeback material down the road right here.
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Awesome, thanks for the post! I always liked Sah-B. My favorite verse from her was on the "Flow On" remix, her and De'1 destroyed it. Too bad their solo material didn't catch on.
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