From The Collection of Saba and No ID by Saba x No ID | Album Review

After a promo run that initially began in 2023, From The Private Collection Of Saba and No ID has finally arrived. Chicago rapper Saba joins forces with the legendary producer No ID for a 15 track collaborative project that has been long anticipated by the listeners. The singles “Back in Office” and “hue_man nature” both dropped in 2023 and these are not on the album. Then, in 2024, “head.rap” and “How to Impress God” dropped — these are on the album. On March 6th, 2025, Saba posted a video of himself on the phone talking about how the album had leaked but many of his loyal fans commented about how they would not listen to it. Then, he followed with a series of vignettes of himself developing pictures with the second one officially announcing the release date of March 18, 2025.

This is an album perfect for the sunny days that are becoming more and more common as we head into spring. Saba’s verses range from discussion of his city, the rap game, relationships, his own music, inner feelings and more. If he’s not looking at things through an introspective lens, he’s dropping a layered verse that showcases his rap and flow skills that demands replaying. And at other moments, he jumps into his melodic deliveries as he sing-raps or just straight up sings.

No ID’s production is an amalgamation of soulful jazzy sounds and smooth melodies as well as more menacingly subdued sounds and a range of percussion choices. With features from collaborators such as Saba’s Pivot Gang crew members, Smino, Kelly Rowland, Ogi, Jean Deaux and more, it feels like each feature was specifically curated for the song they appear on. Not a moment is wasted. Whether the feature is prominent or more subdued, they leave a positive impression on the track.

Right out the gate on the opener “Every Painting Has a Price,” Saba talks about how people view him and how he views himself over guitars and pianos with a soulful hook from BJ The Chicago Kid. This is an excellent introduction to the soundscapes that will be heard all over the album. His singing and flow switches float over the dreamy production of “Woes of the World” as he reflects on the position of being in the rap game with multiple things happening around him in and outside of it. I really enjoyed his syllable manipulation during the second verse of this one

Tracks like the Ogi featuring soulfully smooth “BIG PICTURE” showcase Saba’s lyrical creativity with imagery as he uses multiple references to photography to capture the feeling of being on display to the world. This imagery based lyrical creativity is also displayed on “head.rap” where Saba recaps his hair journey in all aspects with excellent features from Jordan Ward, Ogi and Madison McFerrin. Also, the lyrical creativity on the outro of “Stomping” is something I know fellow Sade fans will appreciate.

His harmonies with Kelly Rowland on “Crash” sound pleasant and I like the detail of his vocals being prominent at some points and hers being prominent at others. “Westside Bound Part 4” finds Saba telling his story about his place in the city of Chicago which fittingly has a feature from his Pivot Gang crew member MFnMelo. Saba’s descriptions of the city and his place in it paint a vivid picture excellently. “How To Impress God” is one of the most personal tracks on the album with Saba discussing how his worldly material success is not impressive to God and speaking from God’s perspective in the second verse.

Saba expresses the power of short tracks several times on the album too. “Stop Playing With Me” is interlude-esque track over a very groovy and minimalist bassline with Saba giving a very brief recap of his life lately while “Acts 1.5” punches the power of the bassline up, strips back the melodic qualities and replaces them with horns as Saba raps a hookless two minute verse. This verse features punchlines and flow switches from Saba and shifts the subject matter to his confidence in his own abilities. ”Reciprocity” follows this track and is another brief minimal track that actually doesn’t have Saba on it but instead an appearance from French musical twin duo Ibeyi as they sing a looped hook about dedicating your all to your significant other. The smooth melodies still continue here though with No ID continuing to show how sometimes less is more.

This is an excellently curated project from Saba, No ID and their collaborators. Saba’s sung vocals pair well with the production with him not doing anything spectacular with them because he doesn't need to. Like the production, they’re easy-going and laid back like a breeze blowing between his vocals. His energy is strong when it needs to be and his verses are vulnerable or punchline infused when they need to be. No ID keeps the production interesting throughout the album with cohesive beats that still stand apart from each other. The entire project is a beautiful canvas of Saba’s skill as an artist on a mission to create music that feels and sounds authentic.

Score: 9/10

Favorite Tracks: BIG PICTURE, Acts 1.5, How To Impress God, 30secchop, head.rap