Gracing the stage, Saba eagerly bounced on alongside his band, opening up with ‘One way’, a commentary of his life as an established rapper. Announcing to the crowd that it was his first time in Manchester since 2019, the crowd erupted, with many loyal fans proclaiming they were in attendance. Grinning, the rapper admitted he was feeling worse for wear after his previous show in London, and challenged the crowd to carry the energy throughout the show.
Performing new tracks such as ‘Survivors Guilt’ and ‘2012’, the crowd embraced the rapper, clinging onto every word. The stand out moments for me however, were performances of ‘BROKEN GIRLS’, ‘BUSY / SIRENS’ as well as ‘HEAVEN ALL AROUND ME’. Admittedly, I was drawn to Sabas discography at the release of stripped back ‘CARE FOR ME’, undoubtedly one of my favourite releases of 2018. This seemed to stand true for others in the crowd, with a neighbouring man in the crowd excitedly rambling that he too was most excited to hear the artists Sophomore album. Despite this, the versatile artist delivered a well-rounded show, with intimate and heartfelt flows balanced well with more upbeat tunes like ‘Fearmonger’.
The versatile artist delivered a well-rounded show, with intimate and heartfelt flows balanced well with more upbeat tunes
With support from his band, alongside Gaidaa gleefully joining the rapper on stage to perform their song ‘Stranger’, the rapper truly dominated the stage with his soulful vocals and tender verses. Perfectly encapsulating the neo-soul sounds of Chicago, all the while also delivering harder flows, it was impressive to see such talent in the heart of Manchester. The rapper, despite seeming exhausted, thanked the audience one last time before closing with harder track ‘Stop That’, which the crowd moshed to with one last bout of energy.
With such a strong performance, I can only hope this talent comes to the toon in upcoming years. Check out Saba’s recent album 'Few Good Things' here.
