Captain Save a Hoe
| "Captain Save a Hoe" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by E-40 featuring The Click | ||||
| from the EP The Mail Man | ||||
| Released | July 27, 1994 | |||
| Recorded | 1993 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 4:47 | |||
| Label | Sick Wid It | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Studio Ton | |||
| E-40 singles chronology | ||||
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| The Click singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Captain Save a Hoe" on YouTube | ||||
"Captain Save a Hoe" is a 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 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.
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. 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. 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 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.
Charts
| Chart (1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 94 |
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard) | 63 |
| US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard) | 12 |