Saba & No ID Release Their Long-Awaited Album, ‘From The Private Collection Of Saba & No ID’

Some of y’all reading this are probably too young to remember, but there was a time albums came out on Tuesday instead of Friday. Recently, a few artists have taken a swing at reviving the tradition, including Tyler The Creator, Earthgang, and now, Saba and No ID. The two Chicago natives have been promising their joint album, From The Private Collection Of Saba & No ID, for quite some time, and today, it’s finally arrived.

The duo kicked off the rollout back in 2023, with the release of the single, “Back In Office” (which does not appear on the final tracklist), following up with “Hue_man Nature” (likewise, was left off the final product). “Head.Rap,” “How To Impress God,” and “Woes Of The World” all made it onto the album, though, as do collaborations with Kelly Rowland and Raphael Saadiq (“Crash”), BJ The Chicago Kid and Eryn Allen Kane (“Every Painting Has A Price”), and all of Saba’s fellow Pivot Gang members.

So, what took so long to get From The Private Collection… out to the world? Audiomack’s Brian Zisook posted a fascinating conversation with Saba on Twitter, in which the Windy City MC blamed the nearly endless delays on a single sample clearance. Janet Jackson’s “I Get So Lonely,” used on track two, “Breakdown,” required a personal co-sign from Ms. Jackson herself, which Saba was finally able to secure after finessing a meeting with Jimmy Jam backstage at The NAMM Show. After connecting Jimmy and No ID (who didn’t have Jimmy’s number), the veteran producers were able to make it shake, although the clearance didn’t come through until February 25, the original planned release date (which was never officially announced, but known to a few).

“It’s a privilege to work with No ID. I wanted it to sound like that,” Saba explained. “We figured it out. We made it work. And now, finally, the world gets to hear it.”

From The Private Collection Of Saba & No ID is out now. You can find it here.