Captain Save a Hoe

1994 single by E-40 featuring The Click

"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)

Earl Stevens
Brandt Jones
Dannell Stevens
Tanina Stevens

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" 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.^[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

^ ^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.
^ "E-40 Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2014-01-15.
^ Single reviews - Captain Save Them Thoe by E-40 Billboard; New York106.22 (May 28, 1994): 51.
^ Baldwin, Davarian. That's the Joint!: The Hip-hop Studies Reader.
^ 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.
^ "E-40 Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
^ "E-40 Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
^ "E-40 Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard.