Drake’s ‘5 am In Toronto‘ is arguably one of the hottest joints out right now and part of the credit goes to the producers of the song, Boi-1da and Vinylz. HHDX recently caught up with the Canadian producer at his place just outside of Toronto. He spoke on co-producing the song, how it came about, why Drake really started from the bottom, whether he has more songs on his next album Nothing Was The Same and more.
DX: And moving to “5AM In Toronto,” that’s a record you co-produced. Can you talk about the backstory of that record and how it came about?
Boi-1da: Originally, I started that beat with a producer named Vinylz, and it was a dope beat that me and him started. But there’s that one sound that goes through the main beat that I liked a lot. I said I was going to make something completely different. I had my boy Nikhil over here that plays the keys, and I started adding stuff to the beat. It just all came together. I sent it off to Drake and he was just like, “Yeah. It’s about to go down.”
DX: When did this happen?
Boi-1da: This was actually a few days before the song came out.
DX: So you just sent it over, he hopped on it, and the rest is history?
Boi-1Da: Yep. He had some things to get off his chest and [that’s] it.
DX: Should we be expecting more records with you and Drake on Nothing Was The Same?
Boi-1da: Oh yes. Me and him have been collaborating on this album, so you’re going to see me a few times on this album.
DX: Can you give us any hints on the direction he’s going in, in terms of sound, features, or vibe that he’s going with for the album?
Boi-1da: The direction is just legendary. I’ll just say that. He has some records on there that’s going to be a great body of work. People are going to be very shocked. He’s taking it to the next level.
DX: Sometimes he goes in on records like “Ransom,” or “9AM in Dallas,” and sometimes he becomes vulnerable on records like “Marvin’s Room.” From a fan’s perspective, do you have a preference between hard-spitting Drake or vulnerable, singing Drake?
Boi-1da: I like everything Drake does. It’s so real. It’s him. When you get something that’s more of him being vulnerable, it’s something that happened to him. Every song that he made, there’s no lying. It’s something that has happened to him. There’s just different sides, and you get to know him through his music because he really exposes himself with his music.
Proceed to HHDX for full interview
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