Saba is bringing heartfelt function and hometown satisfaction to Thanksgiving weekend with the return of John Walt Day, a tribute live performance honoring his late cousin and fellow Pivot Gang member, John Walt.

The profit present, set for Friday, November 28, at Chicago’s Metro, marks the primary time the occasion has been held since 2022. The timing is intentional.

Walt’s birthday falls on November 25, and the vacation season’s themes of household and gratitude align with the spirit of the memorial. The present will characteristic a mixture of established and rising Hip-Hop artists paying homage to Walt’s legacy as each a performer and mentor.

“This 12 months represents a real homecoming for us,” Saba instructed The Chicago Solar-Occasions. “After I return to Chicago and join with individuals who genuinely perceive our music and wish to be a part of this neighborhood, you may really feel how a lot this occasion means to everybody concerned.”

Walt was 24 when he was fatally stabbed exterior a CTA station in River West in February 2017. His loss of life rattled Chicago’s underground Hip-Hop scene, the place he had been gaining recognition for his lyrical expertise and management inside Pivot Gang.

Saba helped launch the annual John Walt Day in 2017 alongside Walt’s mom, Nachelle Pugh.

The occasion not solely honors Walt’s reminiscence but in addition raises funds for the John Walt Basis, which awards $1,000 scholarships to younger Chicago creatives ages 14 to 24.

Past scholarships, the inspiration helps applications like T.I.P. Fest and collaborates with Lollapalooza by way of its Lolla College initiative. It additionally runs Feed the West Facet, a meals distribution effort that started in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This month, this system delivered 25 Thanksgiving meal bins to households, every containing sufficient meals for a complete week.

Saba’s dedication to neighborhood outreach has remained regular. Earlier this month, he organized a pop-up for his latest album Espresso! at Spill the Beans Café, the place attendees have been inspired to donate winter coats.

Since Walt’s passing, Saba has turned private loss into artistic momentum.

His 2018 album Care For Me explored grief and therapeutic, incomes important reward. In 2024, he dropped two new initiatives, one with No I.D. in March and one other shock album, Espresso!, recorded solely inside his Ford Bronco.

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