Captain Save a Hoe

"Captain Save a Hoe"
Single by E-40 featuring The Click
from the EP The Mail Man
ReleasedJuly 27, 1994
Recorded1993
GenreHip hop
Length4:47
LabelSick Wid It
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Studio Ton
E-40 singles chronology
"Captain Save a Hoe"
(1994) 		"1-Luv"
(1995)
The Click singles chronology
"Let's Side"
(1989) 		"Captain Save a Hoe"
(1994) 		"Hurricane"
(1995)
Music video
"Captain Save a Hoe" on YouTube

"Captain Save a Hoe" (clean version titled "Captain Save Them Thoe") is a single by American rapper E-40 featuring hip hop group The Click. It is the lead single from E-40's EP The Mail Man (1993). It is E-40's breakthrough hit and one of his most well-known songs. It has been featured in the soundtrack of the video game Grand Theft Auto V.

Background

The slang phrase "captain save a hoe" has come to mean a man who spends an excessive amount of time and money trying to please a woman, usually a promiscuous one. According to E-40, his inspiration for writing the song was that a lot of his friends were acting like that. Producer Studio Ton produced a "heavy mobbed out baseline" for the track, while E-40 came up with the idea and title. D-Shot of The Click thought of the hook, which was inspired by the song "Double Dutch Bus" by Frankie Smith.[1]

The song criticizes a man who tries to "save" and impress women, especially when their help is unneeded. It ironically depicts this man as a superhero-like character called "Captain Save A Hoe".[1]

The single was released through E-40's independent record label Sick Wid It Records. The song became more successful than expected and a clean version of the song was subsequently made, with the title "Captain Save Them Thoe".[1] Following its regional popularity, E-40 signed to Jive Records. The label re-released the single on 12".[2] The song also popularized the phrase used in the title.

Critical reception

The song was praised by music critics for its 1970s-sounding "radio-friendly, laid-back groove".[3]

Some feminists critiqued the song. Historian and cultural critic Davarian Baldwin notes that it portrays black women as gold-diggers who use their sexuality to take black men's meager earnings.[4]

Other versions

The song "Saved", by American singer Ty Dolla Sign featuring E-40, interpolates and pays homage to "Captain Save a Hoe". In 2020, American musician Fantastic Negrito reinvented the song in a track called "Searching for Captain Save a Hoe", which also features a verse from E-40.[5]

Charts

Chart (1994) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[6] 94
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[7] 63
US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[8] 12

References

  1. ^ a b c Staley, Willy (April 1, 2011). "E-40 Breaks Down His 25 Most Essential Songs". Complex. Archived from the original on 2011-04-04.
  2. ^ "E-40 Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2014-01-15.
  3. ^ Single reviews - Captain Save Them Thoe by E-40 Billboard; New York106.22 (May 28, 1994): 51.
  4. ^ Baldwin, Davarian. That's the Joint!: The Hip-hop Studies Reader.
  5. ^ Kreps, Daniel (2020-09-23). "Fantastic Negrito Recruits E-40 for 'Searching for Captain Save a Hoe' Video". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2020-09-25.
  6. ^ "E-40 Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  7. ^ "E-40 Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
  8. ^ "E-40 Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard.