As part of the company’s Apollo Artist Sessions series, Universal Audio invited hip-hop artist Saba and veteran producer No ID to Raphael Saadiq’s Hollywood studio to record a track with Grammy-winning engineer Jimmy Douglass and documented the entire process.
Having previously worked together on 2025’s From The Private Collection of Saba and No ID – a project pairing Saba’s introspective flows with No ID’s soulful, understated production that was lauded by many as one of the year’s best hip-hop albums – the duo have an established creative partnership, and their free-flowing collaborative spirit is clear to see as they transform a single drum loop into a finished song, Paygrade (Demo).
One of hip-hop’s most renowned producers, No ID has worked with Kanye West, Jay-Z, Drake and J. Cole, among many others. The legendary beatmaker has some sage advice for viewers, talking up the importance of patience in the creative process. “The person that has the most patience usually ends up with the best creative product,” he says. “[It’s about] knowing when to have open mode and closed mode. When I’m in open mode, anything goes – I don’t care, I’m not judging, I’m just working.”
“A lot of stuff I learned from studying Quincy Jones and meeting him and talking to him,” No ID continues. “You gotta have some love and trust with people you work with. You gotta leave your ego at the door.”
Laying down the fundamentals of a beat with his Akai MPC Key 61, No ID bounces ideas off Saba as the rapper adds a bassline with the Vongon Replay, a Juno-inspired virtual analogue synth. “I respect Saba as a producer and an artist,” No ID says of his relationship with the Chicagoan rapper.
“Some people just look at Saba as an artist, but I look at him as a great producer as well. So when we work, our process has evolved to a place where we pass the ball to each other. He doesn’t question what I’m doing and I don’t question what he does.”
Guiding the session is Jimmy “The Senator” Douglass, a celebrated engineer and producer that’s sat behind the boards for everyone from The Rolling Stones and Aretha Franklin to Missy Elliott and Justin Timberlake.
“My mixing theory is all about addition, not subtraction,” he explains. “As a kid without any training, my ears were like ‘how do you make a difference?’ I couldn’t hear when you took shit away, so my whole theory has always been, bring it to you, bring it to you, so you need headroom to bring shit up.”
Douglass explains that he views the different elements of a mix as individual characters that make up a wider narrative. “I really look at these things like they’re characters on the screen,” he says.
“They all have a role and they’re all very alive to me, and they all speak. Some say ‘hey, leave me alone’, and some say ‘hey, you need to do something with me, because I need a little help!’"
Find out more on Universal Audio's website.
