Spotlight: Saba & No ID

The GRAMMY Museum is thrilled to welcome Saba and No ID to the Museum’s intimate 200-seat Clive Davis Theater for an evening celebrating their latest project, From the Private Collection of Saba and No ID, with a discussion about their creative process. There will be a special performance from Saba to follow.

When Saba says that he and No ID have “covered a lot of ground in a short amount of time,” he’s not just talking about the sheer number of songs the pair recorded for their forthcoming joint mixtape, From the private collection of Saba & No ID—though the note could apply to that as well. Saba, the renowned MC and No ID, the legendary producer, both Chicago natives, speak about their time working on the ten-song set as one of personal growth and discovery. “A lot of our sessions start with really in depth conversations,” Saba continues, the subjects ranging from the granular details of various rap styles to life goals totally divorced from music. “I leave the studio right now and I feel my confidence through the roof,” he says. To listen to From the private collection of Saba & No ID is to hear artists unburdened, newly free to expand and experiment. “There’s nothing worse than a creative who doesn’t have freedom,” No ID says. But sometimes “you’ve gotta pull a microscope out to see where you’re not free.” 

It’s difficult to imagine two people better equipped to express that freedom than this pair. No ID’s illustrious career stretches back more than three decades; his seminal work with Common helped earn Chicago hip-hop its place in the national conversation, and subsequent collaborations with the likes of Jay-Z, Kanye West, Beyonce, Drake, Rihanna, and others have netted him nine Grammy nominations (including one win) without compromising his warm, technically rigorous style. Saba, meanwhile, has been hailed as one of the most evocative artists of his generation, with his last two albums in particular—2018’s diaristic CARE FOR ME and Few Good Things, his soulful LP from 2022—earning universal critical acclaim.

Both Saba and No ID believe that the way to build a legacy—one that honors what came before while forging new ground—is to worry about being as honest as possible in the moment and let questions of posterity to sort themselves out later. “To be able to have a real career, you have to reinvent your thought process, reinvent your perspective,” No ID explains. “And you can’t do it sitting on the mountaintop, yelling about what you did. You think you know—and then everything changes.” 

Though No ID occupies the role of the seasoned veteran, the making of From the private collection of Saba & No ID also pushed him to let go of some of his long-held habits and biases. In his retelling, the beat for “Back In Office” was not the kind of thing that would usually make it to an artist’s ears, much less become a project’s lead single. “It was a beat that I probably never even played anybody since I made it,” he says, “because I’ve got my up-to-date producer pride. But Saba was like, ‘Nah, give me that one.’” The results—a relentless barrage of imagistic writing over foreboding keys—were so undeniable that he had to give in. “I had to stop thinking about the things I make about when I make music,” he says. “I just had to let that go and let it be what it is, because it had its own spirit.” 

In describing the multifaceted approach he’s excited to unveil to the world, Saba leans on a basketball analogy. “It’s almost as if I’ve been being used as a sharpshooter,” he says, “but I’m an all-around player. When I go back home, they know me to be the AND1, behind the back, come down the lane and dunk it guy. Nationally, I feel like I’ve been pigeonholed. But now I can be like: ‘Here’s the hook shot we’ve been working on. Y’all don’t remember the hook shot, but it’s still effective.’” That Saba has a bottomless bag of tricks should come as no surprise to those familiar with his work—and still, it would be understandable if an artist felt some nervousness about expanding the understanding of their style and identity, as he and No ID are set to do with From the private collection of Saba & No ID. Not Saba, though. “I’m really comfortable with my hook shot,” he says, grinning widely. 

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Show Time: 7:30pm

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BAG POLICY: please note that only bags 9 inches x 6 inches and smaller will be allowed for this event. Vinyl, memorabilia, gifts, etc. will also not be allowed inside the building.   

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