Artist: Sabatahj
Album: Crush Grooves
Articulation: Al "Knowledge" Hart
Soul music is a witch doctor for Black folk. We visit and consult with it to understand our pains, pleasures, unknowns and futures. Soul music will connect us with our ancestors passing forward stories of past wisdom to the generations present in need of direction. It heals. It stirs the war cry. It moves the spirit.
When singer songwriter Sabatahj crafts a song, the voodoo is at work. The medicine in his latest offering, the 13-track album entitled Crush Grooves, is a conjuring of 90’s hip hop folklore and the spirit of confidence in contemporary R&B. The opening track, Illusions is an introductory display of the double dose of confidence Sabatahj can brew up even in moments of vulnerability. The realization of misplaced time on a faded love is but a momentary vulnerability. By hooks end, it’s clear the confidence of Sabatahj's music is not just reworking 90’s hip hop samples but he is “looking for a new thang”. He cooks up this new soul near-perfectly throughout Crush Grooves.
The title track boast the revival of Lil' Kim's classic ’97 hit Crush On You. Over a syrupy sample, the vulnerability of having an old school crush is transformed into a braggadocious pull-up. If Notorious B.I.G would have held a falsetto note and serenaded his girl instead of hardcore rapping, this is what it would sound like. Sabatahj shoots his shot and scores a hit with Crush Grooves title-track.
The latter half of the album finds Sabatahj channeling his traditional R&B crooning ancestry. The slow jam heavy second half of the album is a refreshing ode to styles past. Yet in perfect contemporary fashion, the slow groove mood hits a perfect crescendo with Fight Night. And once again, the vulnerability of traditional soul music is transformed beautifully into contemporary confidence. Sabatahj stirs a potion of infidelity, domestic argument, and unstable relationships into an elixir of sexy makeup loving-making. The confidence of Crush Grooves!
The sound of Crush Grooves is being passed down to this generation. The vulnerable soul stirrings of R&B singers old get blended into the brash no-nonsense of 90s hip hop on Crush Grooves. All that was needed was the bravado and energy of today's generation. The witch doctor created a potent love potion and Sabatahj has bottled it up for you to try.
Dope Tho Rating 8
Key Dope:
Crush Grooves
Illusions
Fight Night
Knock Knock