sarob.

Any of you audiophiles out there who have been following my posts for any length of time are probably aware that I don’t delve into the world of hip-hop too often. I am by no means a connoisseur of this deeply poetic art form, but every now and then someone comes along that stands out. When I received a single in my inbox from an artist named sarob. I was immediately intrigued. It was laid back, crafty, pensive, and damn smooth. With only one track I didn’t have much to go on, but with the recent release of sarob.’s first mixtape, noon., I had a chance to delve into the man a little more. His first full release is a testament to the genre, and aptly displays the talent and ingenuity of another young voice who has emerged onto the scene.


sarob.’s beats are a perfect compliment to his voice, with a certain natural quality found in both the instrumentals and vocals. There is a focus on acoustic instruments and percussion which is fittingly paired with the conversational style of sarob.’s vocals. The way his lyrics flow with constant slight variation makes it seem like he is uninhibited, like the words are effortless. The relentlessly chill beats provide a platform for this effortlessness, letting the listener get lost within each track. He controls his tone in a way that is similar to speech, giving emphasis to the state of mind and emotion behind his lyrics while making the audience feel like they are hearing it straight from the artist rather than the recording. When combined, these aspects of his music give the entire mixtape a genuine character, one that is unique to sarob.


noon. is a short but diverse mixtape. Clocking in at just over 26 minutes, sarob. managed to pack in 11 tracks (10 and a bonus track) that feel like a true unit and show a wide range in his repertoire. He makes space to bring in a few guests. He throws a bit of soulful singing into the mix on “catch.22.”, which I would love to hear more of in future releases. A positive disposition gives way to a more insecure disposition, sometimes within the same tune. Despite the aforementioned relaxed approach to his instrumentals, there is a fair amount of tension in a song like “alabaster. (feat. Olu)”, brought into full colour by a frantic urgency in sarob.’s voice. noon. takes the listener through the motion of a full album, but in a condensed format. This works perfectly for me, as the non-dedicated hip-hop fan. Most of the listening I do in this genre comes in the form of occasional hip-hop tracks on other albums, such as the features on a Nujabes record or one of Mark Farina’s mixes, but this is a mixtape in which I am eager to hear rap front to back.


At this point it may seem odd that I have not even touched on the lyrical content of noon. sarob.’s fast pace and the immense complexity of his language have made it so that I have not been able to completely process the meaning behind the man on this mixtape. Themes such as finding one’s niche as a beginning artist and asserting one’s identity form the core of the collection. I won’t go into more detail than that, I will leave you listeners to peel through the wordplay.


sarob. is streaming his debut release on soundcloud, where you can also download the whole thing FREE OF CHARGE. noon. contains material that can connect with far more than the regular hip-hop fanbase, so check it out even if this is not your usual thing. - The Indie Blender

Few things in life are more pleasing than music that speaks directly to you as if the artist tailor made the record to touch your soul & warm your heart via their own trials & tribulations.

At times, Sarob's words & imagery feel like a direct reflection of the person I see when I look into the mirror.

As a fellow 20 something, I can say with divine conviction that the struggles of an anxiety ridden self image's not unique to Sarob or myself. Thankfully, there's people willing to tell that story with more melody, conviction, & bounce than I ever could.

Consequently, the Dayton Ohio native's placed himself in a league of artists whom I hold to the highest regard. Ultimately, Sarob's approach takes the hardest parts about feeling low & cures an ailing conscience in a way only a stranger could - through absolute truth. - Dylan Fout

L’effet d’adrénaline que procure la découverte d’un artiste puant le talent à ses tous premiers balbutiements est indescriptible.

C’est dans ces moments qu’ils sont souvent bruts de leurs textes ; en mode exploratoire de leur style. Ils essaient et ils recommencent. Ils sont généreux, curieux, modestes et ont ce « quelque chose » au ventre qui les pousse toujours plus loin… que ce soit sur une scène, dans un label de musique ou sur mon blogue de nouvelles de groupie.

C’est un peu comme ça que je vois Sarob (Robert Tate de son vrai nom). Jeune homme début vingtaine à qui le monde lui appartient. Il sait modestement ce qu’il vaut. Il s’est entouré des bons et surtout : il lit. La lecture semble être, selon lui (et plusieurs personnes en m’incluant bien sûr), être la clef de tout succès.

Il est au moment fébrile avant le décollage de la fusée. J’ai été capable de l’attraper juste avant le décompte. À l’époque, avant que je prenne une « pause » du blogue, ça ne faisait que quelques semaines que Noon avait vu le jour…

Sa voix. On dirait une voix de grand sage. Apaisante. Les textes sont tous aussi bien écrits que les beats, pour un premier LP:



A+ - FATOU M.

Up-and-coming rapper Sarob may be based out of Dayton, OH, but his clever lyricism and ear for choice backpack beats make him sound more like an East Coast golden age throwback.

The 20-year-old MC recently dropped his first album, “noon.” which puts his cerebral bars and knack for introspection over instrumentals by producers like J Dilla, Oddisee and El-P, among others.



The whole project is an incredibly smooth listen, but particular highlights include “Frosty,” “Cotton Gin + Tonic” and opener “High Noon.”

Obviously he’s a young artist with room to grow, but expect to see plenty more coverage of Sarob on PGM. - Grant Rindner

Sarob is 19 year old Robert Tate living and studying in Ohio. He submitted some material to us a month or so back, and I really like his work; clear, light in his vocal tone and playful. ‘I’m a silhouette regretting that cigarette, 19 sitting in a pool full of debt'; he is honest, and I like the style of his flow. There’s a chilled vibe to his beats, and fans of old school Guru, Mos Def and Talib will like his stuff. Clean lyrics spoken over jazzy riffs will leave you wanting to check out the rest of his music. And you should! It is good, and it is free. You can download his first album ‘Noon’ for free from his Soundcloud, and here is the first track ‘High Noon’ to show you what to expect. - Katy Mills

Sarob is a 20 year old artist from Dayton, Ohio who grew up listening to a diverse variety of music — from the temptations to carlos santana ( his favorite artist). His brother would listen to Incubus and Linkin Park and The Rippingtons, which would later go on to influence his sound. Sarob wasnt exposed to rap until the 5th grade.

Sarob started writing rhymes around his junior year of high school… and at that point it was mostly unbounded expression. Nothing he ever wrote was good enough to be a song. It was just sad and un-relatable. Once he graduated high school, he went to Denison University and played basketball for a year, then quit after the release of his demo tape, ‘decent.’ He realized that it was more empowering and fulfilling to develop his talents as a rapper, singer, and songwriter. A surprising amount of people don’t know that he still attends Denison, but he does and this is where he grew into his own as an artist and developed & discovered his true passion as an artist.

noon. is his first official project — that took 9 months to write and record. It’s essentially him, as a 19 year old, getting his foot in the door and demonstrating cleverness, depth, and sincerity. Sarob has real potential from his astounding production choices, lyricism, concepts and his dope vocals that he gives to certain tracks on this tape. Don’t sleep on the kid, he’s getting his foot in the door the right and authentic way. If you like the raw and facetiousness of earl sweatshirt, the grit of joeybada$$ and the witty and cleverness of childish gambino, give ‘noon.’ a listen, you wont be disappointed.

Peep the visuals for “High Noon” below. - Joycelynn Okezie