When you think of Toronto producers, who comes to mind first? T-Minus, Boi-1da and Noah “40″ Shebib. These three guys have been responsible for a lot of your favourite hip-hop and R&B songs over the last 3-4 years, and also very essential to Drake‘s sound development since he was on his come-up, to when he rose to international super-stardom.
T-Minus produced a large chunk of Drake‘s biggest album to date, “Take Care,” having contributed to the platinum selling singles, “The Motto,” “HYFR” and “Make Me Proud.” And who could forget that he was also the man behind Lil Wayne‘s “She Will,” Kendrick Lamar‘s “Swimming Pools (Drank),” Nicki Minaj‘s “Moment 4 Life” and DJ Khaled‘s “I’m On One.” He may have slowed things down a notch lately, but his recent contribution on Justin Bieber‘s “Heartbreaker” didn’t go unnoticed, giving his fans a long awaited taste of his much needed producing talent.
Now Boi-1da? He’s been producing singles for Drake since 2006. After seeing his “So Far Gone” single “Best I Ever Had” go double platinum, it was only looking up from there on. He soon later was responsible for producing Drake‘s “Forever” which featured an all-star lineup of Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Eminem. Drake‘s opening singles to his much anticipated debut and sophomore albums “Thank Me Later” and “Take Care” were also Boi-1da produced. The resume only got bigger for him as he has damn near produced for just about every one of your current favourite rappers in the game.
Noah Shebib, or 40 as you probably know him, has been Drake‘s right hand man in the studio and extremely crucial to his development. From “So Far Gone” to “Nothing Was The Same,” 40 is the craftsman behind your girlfriend’s favourite Drake song which makes her want to pick up the phone and call her ex. Not just that, but he has also produced big records like ASAP Rocky‘s “Fuckin Problems,” Jamie Foxx‘s “Fall For Your Type” and Alicia Keys‘ “Unthinkable.”
I told you those three have been flourishing for years.
They have transformed Toronto into a musical phenomenon in such a short period of time, and its easy to see that our producers have seen more mainstream success than our artists. Now what I have done for you is put together 10 names of talented young producers from our city, who you may or may not be familiar with already. Of course there are more than 10, there’s probably hundreds, even thousands, but I just narrowed it down to a few I’m a legit fan of. These are some of the people who I feel are going to be necessary in keeping our cities music so appealing to the rest of the world in the years to come. All eyes are on us, so keep your eyes on them.
Nikhil
You may not know Nikhil Seetharam, but he has sold over 6 million singles in his short career. He played major parts alongside T-Minus for his roles on “Moment 4 Life,” “I’m On One” and “Make Me Proud.” He has also lent his talent to the film and video game worlds and most recently solely produced T.I.‘s “My Potna.”
Matthew Burnett
Matthew Burnett is another producer who has sold millions of singles but may not be known to the common music fan. At the young age of 22, Matthew has worked with Boi-1da on records for Eminem, Drake, Nas, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj and many more. His most recent work comes from his piano playing on Drake and JAY Z‘s “Pound Cake,” co-production with StreetRunner for “Live Life” on Lil Wayne‘s “Dedication 5” mixtape and co-production on Audio Push‘s “Turn Down” off their popular “Come As You Are” mixtape.
Jordan Evans
Jordan Evans is in a similar boat as Matthew Burnett. His name may not be engraved the back of your head, but he also has worked with Boi-1da on records for the likes of Eminem, Drake, Meek Mill and more. He also lent a hand on “Pound Cake,” and you can thank him for finding that Ellie Goulding sample you fell in love with when you pressed play on that one. Expect forthcoming work with PARTYNEXTDOOR too.
DZL
DZL has produced for Kid Ink, Nipsey Hussle and recently co-produced a fresh track on Audio Push‘s “Come As You Are” mixtape with Matthew Burnett. Having been in the studio with T-Minus, Logic and Eric Bellinger as of late, he is sure to land some more big names on his resume soon.
Burd & Keyz
Burd has had a solid year having produced some big records for Machine Gun Kelly, Pusha T, Meek Mill, French Montana and others. Having just landed a role on The Game‘s new “OKE” mixtape, its only a matter of time when he gets that major label placement to really help skyrocket his career.
PARTYNEXTDOOR
Are you aware that PARTYNEXTDOOR‘s debut self named project was entirely produced by himself? Well now that you are, then you clearly remember how fresh they ALL were. Here’s two new songs from the talented artist just so you don’t forget.
WondaGurl
WondaGurl is a 16 year old producer who found quick fame from her role producing “Crown” for JAY Z off his latest album “Magna Carta Holy Grail.” If you’re a producer reading this now, you couldn’t convince me that you’re not a little jealous. She has also worked with Travis Scott and Ryan Leslie at such a young age, and has had studio sessions with Drake, Hit-Boy and Cardiak to name a few. She has a LONG road ahead of her.
Arthur McArthur
Arthur McArthur probably had one of the biggest years of all Toronto producers. Having started the year on Pusha T‘s “Wrath Of Caine” mixtape, he later found his name on major projects by Ace Hood, Kelly Rowland, Kevin Gates, Logic, Lonely Island, Yo Gotti and DJ Khaled. Having a bag full of album placements and probably plenty more to come, its only time until one of them really sticks and decides to jump to a number 1 spot on the Billboard charts.
Majid Jordan
The producer in Majid Jordan is actually Jordan while Majid handles the vocals. You probably know of these two as the guys on Drake‘s single “Hold On, We’re Going Home.” Well not only did they help write and sing on it, they also were producers behind one of Drizzy’s biggest songs to date as well. The duo also released a highly slept on “afterhours” EP this year with nothing but crazy production. They definitely have their own interesting sound and I predict it’ll get picked up more on its own very soon.
Rich Kidd
Rich Kidd is someone you may be more familiar with seeing how he dropped 3 projects this year alone. Being an artist and producer, he has risen from the underground scene to national fame having collaborated with a shit tonne of artists. His production resume consists of Talib Kweli, Nelly Furtado, Busta Rhymes, Jay Electronica, DMX and many more. He even produced “The Last Hope” for Drake which to me, is one of the best Canadian hip hop records of all time.
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