Hip Hop 50 Celebrate: Sabataj

”Sabataj is the illest it’s just bananas guerillas I’m from a breed that needs to eat emcees to fill us.” - Sabataj (R U Ready).

When we think about Hip Hop of course we think about the most famous faces whose music has graced our ears, as well as inspired our loved for the culture. At the same time it’s important to remember the artist whose name may not be synonymous with fame and fortune. Sabataj is definitely as we Hip Hop heads would say, a dope artist who comes from that core.

Tajgi “Sabataj” Fields is a young Hip Hop artist who hails from the birthplace of Hip Hop, The Bronx, New York City. Hip Hop has been a part of his life forever, but it was at the age of just 13 years old that Tajgi decided that he was gonna pick up the microphone and become a Hip Hop artist himself. Having been inspired by artist like The Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur, Nas, Jay-Z, Big Pun and Eminem, Tajgi adopted stage name Sabataj, a rapper who was cut from the same soul bearing cloth as the Hip Hop heroes who inspired him.

Sabataj describes himself as a “man out of time”. Taj, as most people know him, is definitely what many would consider an old soul, ahead of his time in musical taste and maturity. Growing up he never fit in with a crowd and this made him stand out as unique among his peers. As he began crafting his own music his lyricism focused on subject matter dealing with social issues in the Black community, romantic relationships, as well as commentary on artistry. He shows off this lyrical content on songs like “The Message” and “Black Butter”.

It has to be noted that Sabataj is what you would call a Blerd (a Black nerd). He has always been a big fan of the fantasy world of the supernatural, such as comic book culture. He makes a lot of references to this in his music.

Sabataj is also a close friend of mine. I first met him through one of my best friends from church who told me that me and Taj had a lot in common being that we both rap and love a lot of the same Hip Hop, added to both of us being nerds as well. When we first met you would have thought that we had been best friends for years. It was clear that we would end up being like brothers when we first interacted and talked about how much we love Marvel and Hip Hop.

During our first meeting I played Taj the first song I ever recorded from back in 2013. After listening to it he liked what he heard and told me that he was interested in us recording a song together. At first I didn’t think much of it until he later contacted me while he was working on his first full length album titled “Sophomore Year” back in 2019 and sent the beat to a song he was working on called “R U Ready”. We finished the song and it was released with the rest of the album later in the year.

Sabataj - R U Ready (feat. Joe).

As a Hip Hop artist it has always been Sabataj’s goal to keep the most important qualities of Hip Hop alive and well so that everyone will continue to know the significance of Hip Hop culture. He also aspires to let everyone who has love for Hip Hop know that you don’t have to succumb to the stereotypes that mass media has portrayed Hip Hop as forever. In the four years since releasing his first full length album, Sabataj has earned a college degree and is more active than ever as a recording Hip Hop artist. Voices like Tajgi “Sabataj” Fields are some of the most important voices to listen to because they represent the bond between the artist who create music and the fans who listen to music. Hip Hop’s 50th birth year celebrates: Sabataj.

~~Dedicated to my brother and fellow Hip Hop head Tajgi “Sabataj” Fields.