Hip-hop fans around the world were shocked this week to hear the sad news that one of California rap's all-time great innovators, Saafir, died Tuesday morning. As reported in an Instagram post by his long-time friend and collaborator Xzibit, Saafir “The Saucy Nomad” passed away surrounded by his loved ones. He was 54 years old.
Xzibit was one third, along with Saafir and Ras Kass, of the California rap supergroup Golden State Project, originally called “Golden State Warriors” until a cease and desist request from the NBA team forced them to change, beginning a series of internal conflicts. industry-based tracks whose years-long delays made Golden State Project's album second only to Dr Dre's “Detox” in terms of anticipated West Coast rap albums that never existed.
But Golden State Project and the handful of praised singles we got from the trio, like “3 Card Molly” and “Plastic Surgery,” were just one chapter in one of California's most compelling rap careers. Originally from Oakland, Saafir, born Reggie Gibson, debuted on Digital Underground's 1993 B-side, “Carry the Way,” from the album “The Body Hat Syndrome.” Through infectiously delicious funk production, Saafir's verse was unlike anything in hip-hop at the time. Saafir, a polished confidence totally in control over a truly unpredictable avant-garde flow, was like a glitch in rap's soundscape that listeners couldn't take their heads off. It became one of those monumental, career-making verses that earned Saafir a deal with Quincy Jones' Warner Bros. label, Qwest Records.
The following year, Saafir made two absolutely monumental memorable contributions to hip-hop. One was their debut, “Boxcar Sessions,” an incredibly left-wing release that was still definitely rooted in hip-hop, though it still sounded light years ahead of its time. The single “Light Sleeper” came with a music video that featured a floating disembodied head that reached about halfway down, creating an image that had no aesthetic parent in the culture at the time. The song's production and the more traditional but equally stellar B-side, “Battle Drill,” were undeniable nods that helped more skeptical listeners welcome such a different approach to rap.
Saafir's other big moment in 1994 was being the catalyst for one of the biggest rap battles of all time when, after Hieroglyphics member Casual reportedly failed to show up for a recording session for Saafir's album, The tension escalated into an on-air battle on KMEL. the future world-famous Wake Up Show, a 12-round back-and-forth that began as Saafir vs. Casual and escalated until Saafir's team, Hobo Junction, took in all the hieroglyphics. It's a battle that every hip-hop historian has recorded, downloaded or streamed, and in a sad coincidence, its 30th anniversary was exactly one day before Saafir died.
While Saafir's 2006 independent comeback album, “Good Game: The Return,” made him a sentimental favorite for underground rap fans, his most notable appearances around the turn of the millennium were in front of the screen with cameos in “Many” by 50 Cent. Men” and Mya’s “My First Night With You” videos. Saafir's dynamic camera presence was no surprise to longtime fans, as prior to his rap notoriety he played Harold in the 1993 film “Menace II Society.”
In recent years, Saafir's health problems had come to light. In July 1992, Saafir was among those injured in the crash of TWA Flight 843 after an aborted takeoff, beginning a decades-long series of spinal problems that his fans were unaware of for years. Other problems included the removal of a spinal tumor in 2005 and related leg problems, which caused Saafir to use a wheelchair for most of the last decade. His last high-profile rapping appearance was on Prince Po and Oh No's 2013 track “U Ya,” where he proved that despite his challenges, his lyrics and flow were definitely more refined than ever. Three decades of boundary-pushing rappers praising the influence of “Boxcar Sessions” have turned the album into one of the genre's most passionate cult hits, a not-so-secret society that today mourns a one-of-a-kind event. loss.
