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I was listening to them without knowing who was behind what, Saba says.
Even now, hes still discovering the depths of the Chicago producers discography.
Sometimes Ill be on Instagram and see some of his credits that I didnt know he produced.
Ill just text him like, Damn, you did this one?
But the 30-year-old rapper and 53-year-old producer soon realized they sharpened each other.
They even learned with one another outside the studio, taking a photography class together.
And that extends to the sound, thanks to No IDs lush, soulful beats.
4, where hes celebrating his familys musical history over an anthemic horn loop.
I look at this almost like a breakfast sampler, Saba says.
Its a little bit of everything.
Your history together goes back a while.
But I didnt realize I knew his father.
We had made music back in the 90s together.
The first real contact with Saba was when I was a label executive.
I wasnt even thinking about working on a project, because he produces too.
Hes gonna be indie forever.
And that was what happened, right?No ID:Yeah, he didnt take a deal.
Right before I leave, he just sent his producer bag.
It felt like a billion beats.
I came back with 14 songs, and thats where we initially started.
I think we released two of them as loosies.
But those arent actually on this track list.Saba:The plan changed.
I wanted to put out a Sabas a rapper album.
Then Im like,Man, I rap!
I wanna rap.And just releasing Back in Office alone kind of handled that.
Also, I felt like I could challenge myself more to make better records.
I didnt wanna misuse the opportunity.
I didnt wanna go into it prematurely without fully developing my actual ideas.
Theres been, Hey, let me show you how to use this machine.
Id be like, I aint gon play you that.
And hed like, Play it, man!
And then hell make a song that make me go, Oh, my bad.
The bounce might feel different after you hear how they flow on it.
No ID:Hip-hop instituted that the beatmaker makes a beat, rapper makes a rap.
What do we wanna accomplish?
For you, Saba, this feels like a brighter collection of work.
Certain people bring out certain things.
Sometimes its the conversation, sometimes the actual music is different.
I love playing those songs people respond to them.
But Im onstage and its like, it shouldnt always feel this heavy.
Some of those conversations literally turned into songs, some of them turned into intent for how we market.
Some of them turned into just, That was a great conversation.
Sometimes a producer or a co-writer is like a therapist.No ID:Its therapy for me too, sometimes.
Its not like the producer is the therapist.
Its like therapy is in session and its an exchange of energy that turns into music.
head.rap is a really fun song, but you dont hear people rapping about hair often.
So we started talking about our hair, and What made you grow your shit out?
It might be a two-hour conversation, and then its like, All right, press play on that.
You capture the energy of the room.
Youre both Chicago natives, which means the city has a huge presence on the album.
But you made this album in L.A., where you both live now.
He said, Im thinking about going up in the Colorado mountains where its cold.
I wanna see what comes out of me in a cold environment.
Thats how we represent where we from the best.
Saba:I think Im still loading this answer.
Its like, knowing that you cooked with good ingredients, the meal is going to be better.
