Saafir the Saucee Nomad

HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
edited February 2013 in Strut Central
http://hiphopandpolitics.wordpress.com/2013/02/12/shock-g-of-digital-underground-explains-why-saafir-is-bound-to-a-wheelchair/

Man, I ran into Saafir at SXSW a few years back and he told me pretty much most of this story Shock G recounts. Gotta take good care of your bodies, people. So sad to know this has happened to such a talented dude.



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  • Shock G is such a good guy!

  • JuniorJunior 4,853 Posts
    Damn this is depressing as hell. Was under the impression that most of the reason for his back problems was a spinal tumour. The timeline from 07 onwards is painful. Would still love to hear new music from him, almost 20 years on, Boxcar Sessions is still an incredible album.

  • Jesus this was depressing.

  • Herm said:
    Jesus this was depressing.

  • rootlesscosmo said:
    Herm said:
    Jesus this was depressing.

    QFE!

    i just read this as well...pretty shitty deal..

  • Damn...that is seriously rough.

    Boxcar Sessions was a seminal backpacker album.

  • DelayDelay 4,530 Posts
    this story is too close to home for so many people. i hope saafir can find the treatment he needs to walk again.

    i've always stood behind my opinion that 'Boxcar Sessions' is the greatest rap record ever made, and that's coming from a die-hard east coast rap fan. pounds of respect to this dude for being true to him and his town when everyone else was on New York's dick.

  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
    Delay said:

    i've always stood behind my opinion that 'Boxcar Sessions' is the greatest rap record ever made.

    I wouldn't go that far, but major knock for thinking and saying so.

  • Damn, that... damn that was gritty. I had to give Saafir his props from that battle back in 94' with Casual but I think it was the Hobo Junction vs. Hieroglyphics Crew entirely. I was a big hiero fan back then and I thought that he crushed Casual. That and his cameo in Menace II Society as Kane's cousin Harold, the one that was gunned down at the traffic light. "Get out Kane... I ain't goin out like no chump..."


  • white_teawhite_tea 3,262 Posts
    Wholly separate and besides the point -- please get well, Saafir! -- the way Shock G wrote this was pretty hilarious, with equal amounts of slang and fairly knowledgeable medical terminology.

  • caicai spacecho 362 Posts
    Wow. Thanks for posting that Harvey. Very sad indeed.

  • phongonephongone 1,652 Posts
    Poppin's Mollys is no joke.

  • DawhudDawhud 213 Posts
    A couple years ago I began working on a project and somehow through his manager got his cell number. We were txting back and forth and then one day I hit him up and he said, "yo... my brother just was killed, I can't do this right now." Sad... just fits with the story Shock was writing.

  • real shame. that regimen of newports junkfood and pills had me shaking my head. seems like some nihilistic shit


  • Various parts of this story have been bubbling around the Bay Area for years and suffice to say it's just terrible. Also, there are other awful twists and turns to the man's life that aren't told in Shock's piece but are equally depressing if not more so. Not really a whole lot of silver lining, shit is just fucked up.

    He gave us one of the best rap records ever made, certainly the most unique, visionary, and advanced (fuck an anticon). Also several great 12"s and EPs. It's a crying shame that he never really got credit for it, to the point where even KMEL refused to declare him the winner of his battle with Casual (a conclusion that was obvious then, and still is); not to mention that it's pretty clear who won in life as far as having viable careers and the stability that comes with them. The lot of us typing away into internetsland doesn't really compare to being certified by your own folks and street audience and ultimately that was what the dude wanted. Tragic.

    Folks were talking about Nick Drake on That Other Website About Records and the debate fell to whether or not artists could continue to toil away without critical acclaim, let alone financial reward. That they could desire simple artistic success, without an accompanying thirst for fame and fortune. And in these two cases the answer is clearly that even the most grizzled underground artist wants some level of acceptance and reinforcement. It just sucks that Saafir never got that, and really continues not to get it despite the occasional corner of the internet that understands his brilliance.

  • Could've sworn I posted this here. Get all my social networking stuffs confuseded.


  • that line is deeper that it lets on and the history behind it would blow peoples' minds.

    I think you posted it on Facebook though.

  • parenparen 537 Posts
    Cosign what others have said. Boxcar Sessions was and remains a highly significant record.

    Here's hoping that others who are struggling with addictive substances, behaviors, and poor diet take something away from his story and hoping that Saafir gets some relief and peace.

  • parenparen 537 Posts

  • RishanRishan 454 Posts
    sad story, a very talented brother.

    i found the promo 2lp around 10 years ago and being young and stupid, didn't really appreciate it at the time. listened to it again after reading this and it's a great rediscovery. love it when that happens. i think it's a beautiful piece of vinyl too, label design, fonts

  • Jonny_Paycheck said:
    that line is deeper that it lets on and the history behind it would blow peoples' minds.
    .

    what do you mean

  • Big_StacksBig_Stacks "I don't worry about hittin' power, cause I don't give 'em nuttin' to hit." 4,670 Posts
    paren said:
    Cosign what others have said. Boxcar Sessions was and remains a highly significant record.

    Here's hoping that others who are struggling with addictive substances, behaviors, and poor diet take something away from his story and hoping that Saafir gets some relief and peace.

    Saafir is gifted on so many levels. Physical and mental well-being are golden, and I hope the man (and everyone) can realize it.

    Peace,

    Big Stacks from Kakalak

  • boxcar sessions definitely takes some listening to appreciate, but the dude really came with his own shit. i always loved the battle (which is available on wax and some wakeup show comp i believe). saafir is so fuckin funny and off the wall.
    "you probably own no microphones at your home. your blood has no bones" type ridiculousness. at the beginning of one verse, he lets out a sigh/grumble sounding like its a chore destorying hiero crew members, like taking out the garbage

    he must still be pretty young, i hope he can turn shit around, live without pain and have a decent livelihood in his art or with something else.

  • Boxcar sessions is a top 10 album for me and Saafir is a top 5 MC.

  • rootlesscosmo said:
    Boxcar sessions is a top 10 album for me and Saafir is a top 5 MC.

    agreed.

  • rootlesscosmo said:
    Jonny_Paycheck said:
    that line is deeper that it lets on and the history behind it would blow peoples' minds.
    .

    what do you mean

    knew something was fishy

  • time for action.

  • looking at my oil gauge and it read "you can't fade me"

  • It's a beautiful thing that the strut stands united in their support of Saafir. How often does that happen? Kumbaya! :happyday:

    Somebody gaffled my Ridin 12" but then, one time in '96, I was all fucked up in the Mission (SF), when i came across a copy in this little Latin music shop. Kinda random. To this day I've only listened to it once or twice. That's how important it is to me, haa I thought it was only me.

    Of course I thought Saafir killed Casual, but i was already favored Hobo Junction.
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