Saba

Tahj Malik Chandler (born July 17, 1994), better known by his stage name Saba (stylized as SABA), is an American rapper and record producer.

He grew up in the Austin neighborhood of the West Side of Chicago.

He is a co-founder of the musical collective Pivot Gang with his brother Jerrel Chandler (Joseph Chilliams), their late cousin Walter Long Jr (John Walt), their high school friend Logan Yutters (MFn Melo), Jevunte Wheeler (squeakPivot), and Jimmy (Frsh Waters).

He is also one third of the supergroup Ghetto Sage, with Smino and Noname.

Saba contributed to Chance the Rapper and Donnie Trumpet and the Social Experiment's debut studio album, Surf, by making a guest feature on its 10th song, "SmthnThtIWant".

Saba initially gained recognition after releasing two independent mixtapes: GETCOMFORTable (2012) and ComfortZone (2014).

He was also featured on Chance the Rapper's mixtape Acid Rap, in the song "Everybody's Something".

In December 2012, Saba shared his first project, GETCOMFORTable.

The album is a "catalogue of young Chicago talents who join Saba in trying to make sense of themselves as rising adults in today’s world."

The most popular song off of GETCOMFORTable was "Heaux" featuring well-known Chicago rapper, Mick Jenkins.

In 2013, Chance the Rapper and Saba joined forces on Chance the Rapper's album Acid Rap.

Saba's verse in the song "Everybody's Something" increased his popularity.

Saba continued rapping in 2013 and began to create his second mixtape, ComfortZone.

The mixtape was released in July 2014.

Saba used the album as a window into his life, produced the majority of the tracks on the project.

He describes his surrounding and his optimistic attitude in his verses.

The most popular song off ComfortZone was "Burnout" featuring Eryn Allen Kane.

In 2015, Saba and Chance the Rapper collaborated on the song "Angels".

The duo performed the song live on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, on October 26, 2015.

The album was released in May 2015 for free on iTunes.

Saba released an instrumental EP called SpareChange! in 2015.

The EP consists of 8 tracks available through SoundCloud.

Toward the end of 2015 as well, Saba featured on Chance the Rapper's single "Angels".

Chance the Rapper and Saba performed the song "Angels" on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Monday, October 26, 2015.

Saba's popularity skyrocketed from his Stephen Colbert performance.

The duo represented Chicago's radio stations, with sweatshirts reading "107.5 WGCI" and "Power 92.3" for the performance.

He released his debut album Bucket List Project on October 27, 2016, and his sophomore album CARE FOR ME on April 5, 2018, to widespread critical acclaim.

Saba’s third album, Few Good Things released February 4, 2022.

Saba began playing piano at age 7, which led to experimentation with beat making software.

He began high school at 12 and graduated at 16 with a 3.5 GPA.

He attended St. Joseph's in the suburban Chicago village, Westchester.

Saba would hand out mixtapes in his high school hallways to get his name out.

At age 16, Saba began performing at YouMedia Center and Young Chicago Authors (YCA) in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago.

These after school open mics gave Saba the confidence and charisma he portrays on stages today.

He attended Columbia College Chicago but dropped out after three semesters after his scholarship was dropped.

In January 2016, Saba released the single "GPS" featuring his father and musical influence, Chandlar.

The single was included in his debut album, Bucket List Project, released on October 27, 2016.

The album consists of 13 tracks featuring a wide array of other Chicago-based artists such as Noname, Twista, Akenya, Jean Deaux, and his brother Joseph Chilliams.

The album focuses on his upbringing on the West Side and spirituality.

In July 2016, Saba also appeared on Noname's debut album, Telefone, on the song "Shadow Man" alongside Phoelix and Smino.