Go Inside the Studio with Saba and No ID

Watch two masterminds of hip-hop build a track from start to finish.

We invited Saba and No ID into the studio with Grammy-winning engineer Jimmy Douglass. Fresh off their first collaborative album, they let us go behind the scenes and discover how they turn ideas into finished songs in the studio.

Want to get your hands on the gear in this session? Scroll down to check out the equipment they used.

 

“From the Private Collection of Saba & No I.D.” is a collaboration between Chicago rapper Saba and legendary producer No ID. To detail their collaborative workflow, we went inside the studio with engineer Jimmy Douglass and watched them work.

 

It All Starts with a Single Loop

From the jump, it was clear that both artists had their collaborative process dialed. As soon as the duo got comfortable in the studio, they were already bouncing ideas off one another.

They took their time finding the right element to get started. But the moment they latched on to a drum loop, they each jumped into the creative process to start capturing the sound they envisioned.

 

Two Masterminds Go to Work

Once they had created a foundation for their track, Saba and No ID split off to continue working by themselves. For them, this is a key part of the creative process during long studio sessions.

To create the right atmosphere, Saba chose to hold his mic rather than put it on a stand. When asked him to dive deeper into his songwriting process, he spoke about the importance of sincerity. “One of my entry points into hip-hop was vulnerability,” he said. “Music is like a blank canvas. You can rap about your life in any way that you want.”

He went on to describe the importance of giving the song time to discover itself: “One of my favorite parts is coming back to an idea after an hour or two,” he said. “You can fall in love with it all over again.”

 

“You gotta love and trust the people you work with, and leave your ego at the door.”

No ID (Jay-Z, Common, J. Cole)

 

Saba is a critically acclaimed Chicago rapper, known for his jazz-influenced style and collaborations with artists like Chance the Rapper.

The Role of the Engineer

Jimmy Douglass is an engineer known for crafting genre-defining records for artists like Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, and Missy Elliott. For this session, he wanted to give Saba’s vocals their own identity.

We learned that his entire process is informed by a simple philosophy: you can hear sonic adjustments more easily when you bring something new to a track, rather than take away from it.

He went on to explained that he never dwells on any one element of a mix long enough to get fatigued by it. For him, each track has a specific role to play. While some demand more attention, others perform their role right out of the gates.

Demonstrating this concept, he dropped the MXR Flanger/Doubler on a keyboard track. While the difference was subtle at first, it added width and movement that seemed to elevate the entire track when played back in the mix.

 

“My whole theory has always been ‘bring it to you’. So you need headroom to bring shit up.”

Jimmy Douglass (Missy Elliott, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake)

 

Jimmy Douglass is one of the most influential recording and mixing engineers in modern music. He helped cement a new sonic standard for hip-hop with his raw and dynamic production approach.

Knowing When to Call It

Over his career No ID has learned exactly how to avoid the common pitfall of going too far with an idea. “It’s like working with clay,” he explains. “You might mold it five times before you find what’s right. Once you’re there, you bake it.”

One thing became clear to our entire team while watching this session unfold — great collaborators always move the idea forward. It’s not because every choice is perfect, but because the artists trust their own instincts and the skillsets of those around them. 

 

– Austin Lyons

 

---

 

Get the Gear From This Session!

Want the sound of this track by Saba and No ID? Get the full collection of UAD plug-ins used in this session when you build a bundle today.

UAD plug-ins used in this session:

• SSL 4000 E Channel Strip

• Bx_saturator v2

• Chandler Limited Curve Bender Mastering EQ

• Dbx 160 Compressor/Limiter

• Neve 1073 Preamp & EQ Collection

• Avalon VT-737 Tube Channel Strip

• Brigade Chorus

• API 500 Series EQ Collection

• Oxide Tape Recorder

• Neve Dynamics Collection

• Dangerous BAX EQ Collection

• AMS RMX16 Expanded Digital Reverb

• MXR Flanger/Doubler

• 1176 Classic Limiter Collection

• Pultec Passive EQ Collection

Hardware used in the session: 

• SD-1 Dynamic Microphone

• Apollo Solo

• Apollo Twin X

• Apollo x16

 

Related Articles:

• Best Plug-Ins for Wrappers and Beatmakers

• The 10 Classic of Hip-Hop Music Gear

• Watch a Hip-Hop and R&B Mixing Masterclass

• Recording Hip-Hop Using Apollo Twin X

• Creating Hip-Hop: 10 Questions with Just Blaze