Saba and No ID Reunite on “Paygrade Demo”

Fresh off a sold-out EU/UK headline tour, RIAA Gold-selling Chicago rap virtuoso and Pivot Gang leader Saba returns today with “Paygrade Demo,” a previously unreleased track with GRAMMY® Award-winning super-producer and “Godfather of Chicago Hip-Hop” No ID – LISTEN HERE. The release comes in celebration of the upcoming one year anniversary of their critically acclaimed joint album From the Private Collection of Saba and No ID.

Also premiering today is a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of “Paygrade Demo,” presented with Universal Audio. Filmed inside Raphael Saadiq’s Los Angeles recording studio, the video captures Saba and No ID as they transform the unscripted session into a finished record, guided by multi-GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer Jimmy Douglass.

Released last March, From the Private Collection of Saba and No ID is the powerhouse joint album that has surpassed 50 million streams worldwide to date and earned widespread praise from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Complex, NPR Music, Hypebeast, and more, quickly becoming one of the most talked-about rap releases of 2025.

For Saba and No ID, the process of making From the Private Collection of Saba and No ID was long, involved, and not always linear. Beginning life as a mixtape, it entailed mountains of demos, months of reconsideration, and even a hard reset. Yet when the time came to push the button, there was no hesitation. From the Private Collection is the sort of record rap fans across generations adore: technically dazzling but thematically dense, irresistibly kinetic even as it dives deep into Saba’s psyche. Both artists 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 sort themselves out later.

As a follow-up to From The Private Collection, Saba released the genre-blurring project C0FFEE! capturing the raw, unfiltered energy of a single week in his life. Written and recorded entirely in his black Bronco WildTrak, the tape serves as both a sonic diary and a bold exercise in creative freedom. With novel beats, experimental vocal inflections, and contributions from close collaborators, C0FFEE! strips away formality in favor of spontaneity, showcasing Saba’s incredible range as both a songwriter and producer. Meanwhile, No ID has continued to solidify his status as one of the most influential producers in the game, co-producing “American Requiem” from Beyoncé’s latest cultural phenomenon COWBOY CARTER alongside Jon Batiste and a plethora of genius hitmakers. He also executive produced Killer Mike’s sixth studio album MICHAEL, snagging a “Best Rap Song” GRAMMY Award for his work on “Scientists & Engineers.”

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