I couldn’t even tell you the first time I heard Saafir. It had to be for Boxcar Sessions and it’s dope yellow cover…
But maybe it was my love of Hiero (shout out Del, Souls, and Casual) that took me to the Hiero Vs. Hobo Junction battle? That battle scene could blow an emcee up real quick. Hiero already had the clout with their hits but Hobo Junction was also out The Bay and had something to say. You know the Hiero roster but what about Hobo Junction? Saafir formed Hobo Junction in the Mid90s but he took the whole crew on his back when Saafir and Casual were taking shots at each other… But let’s set it straight, this was never a Hiero vs. Hobo battle… This was Casual vs. Saafir and it was what the 90’s bay area rap scene was like. A lot of hungry emcees ready to murk a mic and outdo the next man on the mic.
Saafir had those acting chops with his role with Menace II Society where he was right up there with O-Dawg for iconic 90’s gangster movie characters. Harold was a g… I’d hang out with friends and try to work on my mean mugging like Harold… That look down, look up head nod kind of thing??? g shit… when Harold took the swig of the 40, threw it in the front lawn, and then blew out some weed smoke???? What????
now that i watch these old menace videos i know why i am such a big saafir fan… he was simply cool as fuck in front of the camera and behind the mic. He exuded confidence and gave me a role model on how to walk and talk in life… although most of the time i just stayed in my bedroom practicing looking hard. Then I’d go hit the arcade and work on my Street Fighter 2 game… speaking of Street Fighter 2 game, how crazy is this track with Ahmad, Ras Kass, and Saafir??? The way Saafir comes into the song??? wild.
It’s crazy when there are notable artists in my hip hop library and I can’t pinpoint when I knew they were dope… I go back and forth with Saafir… He has always been dope to me. The “Light Sleeper” video is next level… it is so f’n fresh…
But then today I stumble into this and am trippin out…. had you seen this?
But at the end of the day, if I only get one Saafir track the rest of my life and features count too???….. there’s only one song to me. well… maybe there are like 2 or 3… let me just brain dump… Golden State Warriors were Ras Kass, Xzibit, and Saafir. When they connected on wax it was something to see.
This right here tho????????????????