And he was like, “Yo, you killed the Lil’ Kim tribute.” And we talked about that a little bit and then I don’t know how we got into a conversation about me and Iman. How did you become the star of this video? It was actually crazy because I was in the studio recording and Kanye came by to the other studio next door to record and asked me to come over real quick. So when I heard that the video was going to be premiering at the VMAs, I was like “Oh my god, it’s tonight! Do I look good? Do I look great? Is he going to change his mind and not premiere it?” At that point I had already told all of my family, but even when he went onstage and I saw him, I thought he might just wind up doing something completely different because you just never know with Kanye. We hadn’t even seen the video before last night. What was it like watching the world premiere of this video? I was literally shaking because Kanye is very secretive when it comes to projects that he’s very interested in. Below, we caught up with Taylor via phone and talked about her big VMAs moment, the inspiration behind the video, and what was up with those sheep and her cat face at the end of “Fade.” You must be having a surreal morning. Their friendship remains on and off, with the pair teaming up over the years for collaborations on Drake's 2011 album, Take Care, and the Weeknd's 2013 release, Kiss Land.Even more impressive is the fact that Taylor had a baby girl only 8 months ago with her fiancé, Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard Iman Shumpert, who also made a brief, and very risqué, appearance in the video. Many thought Tesfaye would sign to the OVO label, but instead he created his own imprint called XO in 2012, planting the seeds of what would become an ongoing rivalry between the two stars. After posting his first tracks on the OctobersVeryOwn blog, Drake invited the singer, real name Abel Tesfaye, to perform at the 2011 OVO Fest. Here are the artists he has lent a helping hand to.ĭrake's first big co-sign was Scarborough R&B artist the Weeknd. Through shouting out singers and rappers that he likes and hopping on early remixes of tracks, Drake has mastered the art of co-signing artists. (Some might also argue that it's more of a transference, where he uses artists to stay on top of musical trends.) Once Drake earned his status as one of hip hop's top stars, he began using that power and influence to bring up newer artists. He also serves as one of three primary directors of Drake's OVO brand, which stands for October's Very Own. From there, Shebib has been on every Drake album and taking on multiple roles, from executive producer and engineer to mixer and songwriter. Shebib first appeared on the 2007 mixtape Comeback Season, co-producing the track "The Presentation" alongside Scarborough artist Rich Kidd, but began taking on a larger role on 2009's So Far Gone sessions as producer and recording engineer. Often noted as Drake's musical right-hand man, Noah "40" Shebib has been there since the artist's earliest days. The technical architects of this signature sound, Drake has built a tight-knit team of skilled players but he has also occasionally expanded his roster to include and highlight producers outside of Toronto as well. But behind this sound are some of Drake's closest collaborators: his producers. Producersĭrake has become the face of the Toronto sound, a cold yet emotional blend of R&B and rap that mirrors the city's moody atmosphere and intense seasons. This is Drake's musical sphere.įor all of our Decade of Drake coverage, go to cbc.ca/music/decadeofdrake. These people's names are synonymous with Drake's, and vice versa.
Below is a breakdown of some of Drake's closest allies. The result is a brand that is both incredibly unique to him and his hometown, having helped shape a distinct Toronto sound, but also extremely malleable, able to take on new sounds and voices to expand Drake's global reach. This is exactly what Drake has done.Ī major curator of both his sound and the people he works with, the Toronto star has cultivated an enormous circle of producers and artists to execute his musical vision. In order to become one of the biggest hip-hop moguls of the past decade, one must surround themselves with the best hit-makers and collaborators.