"Captain Save a Hoe" is an early 1990s song by American rapper

E-40 Earl Tywone Stevens Sr. (born November 15, 1967), better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper. He is a founding member of the rap group The Click, and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. He has released 26 studio albums to date, a ...

featuring hip hop group

The Click The Click was a hip hop group consisting of 4 members from Vallejo, California. The group's members are E-40 (Earl Stevens), his cousin B-Legit (Brandt Jones), his brother D-Shot (Danell Stevens), and his sister Suga-T (Tanina Stevens). Toge ...

. It is the lead single from E-40's EP ''

The Mail Man ''The Mail Man'' is an extended play by American rapper E-40. It was released by Sick Wid It Records in 1993 on LP's and cassette's. The album features production by Mike Mosley, Sam Bostic, Studio Ton and E-40. It peaked at number 13 on the ' ...

'' (1993). It is E-40's breakthrough hit and one of his most well-known songs. It has been featured in the soundtrack of Grand theft Auto 5, the best selling game published by

Rockstar Games Rockstar Games, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in New York City. The company was established in December 1998 as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, using the assets Take-Two had previously acquired from BMG Interactive. Foun ...

in 2013.

Background

The slang phrase "

captain save a hoe "Captain Save a Hoe" is an early 1990s song 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 fe ...

" has become 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 Danell LaShawn Stevens Sr. (born December 12, 1969), better known as D-Shot, is an American rapper from Vallejo, California. D-Shot got his start as a member of the rap group the Click, which also included his siblings E-40 and Suga-T, as well ...

of The Click thought of the hook, which was inspired by the song "

Double Dutch Bus "Double Dutch Bus" is a hit 1981 funk song by Frankie Smith, made famous for its extensive use of the "izz" infix form of slang. It was first released as a 12" promotional single in 1980, and released under the album "Children of Tomorrow" in ...

" by

Frankie Smith Franklyn Leon Smith (January 29, 1940 – March 8, 2019) was an American funk musician and R&B/soul songwriter. He was best known for his 1981 hit single "Double Dutch Bus". Career Smith went to college in Tennessee for elementary education ...

. 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". The single was released through E-40's independent record label

Sick Wid It Records Earl Tywone Stevens Sr. (born November 15, 1967), better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper. He is a founding member of the rap group The Click, and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. He has released 26 studio albums to date, ...

. The song became more successful than expected and a clean version of the song was subsequently made, with the title "Captain Save Them Thoe". Following its regional popularity, E-40 signed to

Jive Records Jive Records was an American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary to the Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chicago. Jive was best known for its successes with hip hop, R&B, an ...

. The label re-released the single on 12". 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". 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.

Other versions

The song " Saved", by American singer

Ty Dolla Sign Tyrone William Griffin Jr. (born April 13, 1982), known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign (stylized as Ty Dolla $ign or Ty$), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He first gained major recognition in 2010 for his feature on Ameri ...

featuring E-40, interpolates and pays homage to "Captain Save a Hoe". In 2020, American musician

Fantastic Negrito Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz (born January 20, 1968), better known by his stage name Fantastic Negrito, is an American singer-songwriter whose music spans blues, R&B, and roots music. His 2016 album '' The Last Days of Oakland'' won a Grammy award f ...

reinvented the song in a track called "Searching for Captain Save a Hoe", which also features a verse from E-40.

Charts

References

{{E-40 1993 songs 1994 debut singles E-40 songs Songs written by E-40 Songs about fictional male characters