Some Unearthed Sah-B Shit

Whoa - we interrupt 'Mel's Message Week' to bring you a breaking post on Sah-B! Fifth Element Online has just posted an in-depth review (and a complete mp3 rip) of her unreleased '94 album for Reprise Records, Some Ol' Sah-B Shit! Go check it out. I'll wait here. Come back when you're done.

Okay, so here's the cover of the tape he posted (you already saw it there, but I'm re-posting it here for comparison's sake).


I've been on the hunt for this album ever since it was announced on the back of the "Summa Day" cassingle as coming soon. Of course, it never did. But I knew that promo tapes existed, and I've seen a few fly by on EBay. In fact, six or so went up relatively recently. I never got 'em because they wound up going for ridiculous money. But what's interesting is that they're not all the same.

First of all, there's this version:

It's not really too different from the one FE posted, except that it's four tracks shorter. Those missing tracks are just the skits, and otherwise the track-listing is identical, so no big deal.

Okay, but how about this:


If you look, it's dated about three months earlier than the one FE posted, and has an entirely different (and shorter) track-listing. This definitely looks like an unfinished version. "Funkmaster Flex" might just be a radio freestyle or a drop/skit. But some titles like "Tell Me Something Good" and "Don't Stop" seem to have gone missing from those later versions posted above.

The same could be said for this 3-song tape:

"Do You Love Him Enough To Do the Time" persists through all the versions we've seen, and ties it to the Reprise album; but the other two songs, again, seem unique to this tape. Somebody must have some pretty deep vaults of unreleased Sah-B shit.

Especially since it looks like Reprise was also considering releasing some singles that never saw their way out the gate... check these out!

...That last one, of course, did come out as the B-side to "Summa Day." I just included it because it includes an Acapella version that was never released.

But how about those other songs? "Merciless" (plus a possibly alternate "Final Mix"), "Sah-B Show" and "Can't Let Go?" And these look like singles, too - so there's a good chance they're hotter than many of the album filler songs. Apparently they made a lot of passes trying to please Reprise, and none of them succeeded.

Now, it's important to note, I don't actually have any of these tapes... Is it possible that one or two of these seemingly different songs are actually the same but alternately titled? Sure. Maybe the song on the single "Sah-B Show" is "Sah-B" on that eight-song tape.

But one thing's for sure. There is a crap-ton of unreleased Sah-B material - much of which we can now hear thanks to Fifth Element Online and much we cannot; but all of which needs to be given a proper, official release. Who can make this happen?

(By the way, I love it that there can be "breaking news" on Sah-B's album in 2011. hehe)