The Heat Index: Saba • 2012 (feat. Day Wave)
The Heat Index is These Days’ hip hop column showcasing a new hot record we can’t stop playing.
My mind has never been the sharpest when it comes to memory. Whenever I try to look back at my life, the best I can usually muster up are fleeting moments that, at this point, I can’t be sure whether they actually happened or are just an amalgamation of experiences. Meeting people, conversations, and general events feel blurry at best.
Anyway, one of the many reasons I love Saba’s “2012” record, off the phenomenal Few Good Things, is because it can vividly bring back some of those memories for me. Throughout the song’s four-minute run time, I can close my eyes and situate myself in high school, scrolling through blogs and being excited about meeting friends after school.
Being able to reminisce about things that back in the day felt mundane but now cherish has to be one of music’s most magical elements. On “2012,” that sensation is intentional, as Saba taps into his own nostalgia to momentarily grab hold of a time in his life when he had everything he needed, even if it didn’t feel that way back then.
The first verse warmly describes the dynamics of young love while the second recounts Pivot Gang’s formative years as close friends and lyrical sparring partners in the makeshift studio they created in Saba’s grandma’s basement (which I think the city should establish as a historic landmark).
For me, the sweetest moment in the ‘tape is when Saba tries to put his girl onto his favorite artists just for her to already know all of them. It’s also one of the best examples of how Saba connects with listeners through transparent and intimate storytelling that speaks to the shared human experience.
The production further sparks the evocativeness of the song with a poignant guitar strum by Daoud and layered texture like birds chirping in the background. It sounds like the weather hitting over 65 degrees for the first time in the year. That attention to detail and execution makes “2012” so effective and the album the best of the year so far.
The song also soundtracks the inflection point in the album’s accompanying short film —where we see Saba looking at old pictures with his grandad and hanging out with friends and family in the present—which was shown in private screenings last month and is now available on YouTube.
Tying it up to one of the album’s themes, “2012” also made me appreciate the now, making me think about how in a few years, we’ll fondly be looking back at the few good things we are currently experiencing in spite of the hardships in front of us. I don’t know how much I’ll remember in 2032, but I’m confident I’ll be able to talk about hearing this song for the first time.
