Boi-1da
Encyclopedia
Matthew Samuels better known as Boi-1da , is a Canadian hip-hop
producer
from Toronto
, Ontario
. He has produced for artists and groups such as Chip tha Ripper, Kardinal Offishall
, Clipse
, Drake
, Eminem
, Saukrates
, k-os
, G-Unit
, and The Diplomats
among others. He is currently one of the most sought-after producers in the hip-hop industry.
, Samuels moved to Canada when he was five, and grew up in the Silver Springs
area of Scarborough, Toronto
. He was also raised in Ajax, Ontario
, where he currently resides. At the age of eight, his mother bought him a Casio
keyboard. By the age of 15, without any formal musical training, he started using the FL Studio
(formerly Fruity Loops) beat-making program. A few years later, he won three consecutive Battle of the Beatmakers championships.
While Boi-1da is known to use samples in his productions, he often incorporates live instrumentation and an air horn
sound effect (more commonly used in dancehall
and reggae
). He currently uses FL Studio 9 to make beats, previously, he used Fruity Loops 3.56 and 7 XL. Boi-1da was influenced by producers such as Dr. Dre
, Swizz Beatz
, Timbaland
, and The Neptunes
.
Dr. Dre appeared on the remix of "Set It Off" by Kardinal Offishall
, produced by Boi-1da. In an interview with FLOW 93.5
, Boi-1da revealed that he was working on Dr. Dre's highly-anticipated album, Detox, to be released in 2011. This was later found to be false. He's currently working with songwriter Sean Garrett
, has submitted tracks for Usher
, and worked with the Jonas Brothers
in studio. He's also working on Busta Rhymes
' upcoming album, Extinction Level Event 2.
Boi-1da along with Jordan Evans produced the hit song, "Not Afraid
", by Eminem
,which premiered April 29, 2010.
Boi-1da was credited for producing "hahahaha jk?" from Das Racist
's debut album Sit Down, Man
, which was released September 2010.
Boi-1da was recently, April 2011, confirmed to be working on Drake's second album, Take Care, which was released November 15 2011, as well as Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins' debut album, Still Cool. Boi-1da currently searches for new talent using Blazetrak.com.
is one of its seven categories. In 2011, Drake presented the award to him and 40, They both won the ASCAP Pop Music Award for the Songwriters of the Year for "Over".
s are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
. Boi-1da has been nominated five times and has won two.
|-
|rowspan="2"|2010
|rowspan="2"|"Best I Ever Had
" (Drake
)
|Best Rap Song
|
|-
|Best Rap Solo Performance
|
|-
|rowspan="5"|2011
|"Not Afraid
" (Eminem
)
|Best Rap Song
|
|-
|"Not Afraid" (Eminem)
|rowspan="2"|Best Rap Solo Performance
|
|-
|"Over
" (Drake)
|
|-
|"Recovery" (Eminem)
|rowspan="2"|Best Rap Album
|
|-
|"Thank Me Later
" (Drake)
|
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
producer
Hip hop production
Hip hop production is the creation of hip hop music. Though the term encompasses all aspects of hip hop music, it's most commonly used to refer to the instrumental, non-lyrical aspects of hip hop. This means that hip hop producers are the instrumentalists involved in a work...
from Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. He has produced for artists and groups such as Chip tha Ripper, Kardinal Offishall
Kardinal Offishall
Jason D. Harrow , better known by his stage name Kardinal Offishall , is a Canadian rapper and record producer. He is often credited as Canada's "hip-hop ambassador", and is best known for his distinctive reggae and dancehall-influenced style of hip-hop.-Life and career:Harrow was born in...
, Clipse
Clipse
Clipse is a Virginia Beach, Virginia-based hip hop duo. Formed in 1992 by brothers Malice and Pusha T , the group is heavily affiliated with production team The Neptunes and signed to Star Trak Entertainment.- Exclusive Audio Footage :The Thornton brothers were born in The Bronx, New...
, Drake
Drake (entertainer)
Aubrey Drake Graham , who records under the mononym Drake, is a Canadian recording artist and actor. He originally became known for playing Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation....
, Eminem
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
, Saukrates
Saukrates
Karl Amani Wailoo , better known by his stage name Saukrates , is a Canadian rapper, singer, and record producer of Guyanese descent. He is the co-founder of Capitol Hill Music, and lead singer of hip-hop/R&B group Big Black Lincoln...
, k-os
K-os
Kevin Brereton , better known by his stage name k-os , is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer...
, G-Unit
G-Unit
G-Unit is an American hip hop group originating from New York City formed by 50 Cents. G-Unit emerged on the New York scene by independently releasing several mix tapes...
, and The Diplomats
The Diplomats
The Diplomats, also popularly known as Dipset, are a Harlem-based hip hop group founded by Cam'ron and Jim Jones in 1997. The original members of the group were Cam'ron, Freekey Zekey, and Jim Jones ; who all grew up together in Harlem...
among others. He is currently one of the most sought-after producers in the hip-hop industry.
Early life and career
Born in JamaicaJamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, Samuels moved to Canada when he was five, and grew up in the Silver Springs
L'Amoreaux
L'Amoreaux is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated east of Victoria Park Avenue, south of McNicoll Avenue, west of Kennedy Road and north of Huntingwood Drive. L'Amoreaux is named after Josue L'Amoreaux , a French Huguenot loyalist who settled in the area...
area of Scarborough, Toronto
Scarborough, Ontario
Scarborough is a dissolved municipality within the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it comprises the eastern part of Toronto. It is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the west by Victoria Park Avenue, on the north by Steeles Avenue East, and on the east by the Rouge River...
. He was also raised in Ajax, Ontario
Ajax, Ontario
Ajax is a town in the Durham Region in the Greater Toronto Area.The town is named for the HMS Ajax a Royal Navy cruiser that served in World War II. Ajax is a part of the Greater Toronto Area and the...
, where he currently resides. At the age of eight, his mother bought him a Casio
Casio
is a multinational electronic devices manufacturing company founded in 1946, with its headquarters in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Casio is best known for its electronic products, such as calculators, audio equipment, PDAs, cameras, musical instruments, and watches...
keyboard. By the age of 15, without any formal musical training, he started using the FL Studio
FL Studio
FL Studio is a digital audio workstation developed by the Belgian company Image-Line. FL Studio features a graphical user interface based on a pattern-based music sequencer...
(formerly Fruity Loops) beat-making program. A few years later, he won three consecutive Battle of the Beatmakers championships.
While Boi-1da is known to use samples in his productions, he often incorporates live instrumentation and an air horn
Air horn
The air horn is a device designed to create an extremely loud noise. It is usually composed of a pressurized air source coupled to a horn through a valve which allows the device to be turned on and off. Air horns have been installed on large semi-trailer trucks, fire trucks, and some ambulances for...
sound effect (more commonly used in dancehall
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
and reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
). He currently uses FL Studio 9 to make beats, previously, he used Fruity Loops 3.56 and 7 XL. Boi-1da was influenced by producers such as Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre
Andre Romelle Young , primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records...
, Swizz Beatz
Swizz Beatz
Kasseem Dean , better known by his stage name, Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, DJ, rapper and painter. At the age of 17, he gained attention in the hip-hop world through his friendship with rapper DMX. Grady Spivey and rapper Cassidy helped launch his label Full Surface Records...
, Timbaland
Timbaland
Timothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper....
, and The Neptunes
The Neptunes
The Neptunes are a record production duo consisting of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, who are credited with contributing the sound for many successful hip hop, R&B and pop artists in the late-1990s and 2000s...
.
Dr. Dre appeared on the remix of "Set It Off" by Kardinal Offishall
Kardinal Offishall
Jason D. Harrow , better known by his stage name Kardinal Offishall , is a Canadian rapper and record producer. He is often credited as Canada's "hip-hop ambassador", and is best known for his distinctive reggae and dancehall-influenced style of hip-hop.-Life and career:Harrow was born in...
, produced by Boi-1da. In an interview with FLOW 93.5
CFXJ-FM
CFXJ-FM is a Canadian radio station in Toronto, Ontario, which uses the on-air brand FLOW 93.5. It first aired in 2001 as Canada's first urban music station...
, Boi-1da revealed that he was working on Dr. Dre's highly-anticipated album, Detox, to be released in 2011. This was later found to be false. He's currently working with songwriter Sean Garrett
Sean Garrett
Garrett Hamler, better known by his stage name Sean Garrett is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, and record producer. He has produced fifteen number one singles in only seven years of producing music. That number puts him in fifth place on the Billboard list of producers with the most number...
, has submitted tracks for Usher
Usher (entertainer)
Usher Terry Raymond IV , who performs under the mononym Usher, is an American singer-songwriter, and actor. He is considered around the world to be the reigning King of R&B. Usher rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album My Way, which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100...
, and worked with the Jonas Brothers
Jonas Brothers
The Jonas Brothers are an American boy band. The band gained its popularity from the Disney Channel children's television network. From the shore region of New Jersey, the band consists of three brothers: Paul Kevin Jonas II , Joseph Adam Jonas , and Nicholas Jerry Jonas...
in studio. He's also working on Busta Rhymes
Busta Rhymes
Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr., better known by his stage name Busta Rhymes ,Smith is an American rapper, producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the alias Busta Rhymes after NFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes...
' upcoming album, Extinction Level Event 2.
Boi-1da along with Jordan Evans produced the hit song, "Not Afraid
Not Afraid
Not to be confused with Eminem's Not AfraidNot Afraid is the debut studio album by Christian pop rock singer Stephanie Smith. It was released on May 27, 2008 through Gotee Records...
", by Eminem
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
,which premiered April 29, 2010.
Boi-1da was credited for producing "hahahaha jk?" from Das Racist
Das Racist
Das Racist is an alternative hip hop group based in Brooklyn, New York City, composed of MCs Himanshu Suri , and Victor Vazquez and hype man Ashok Kondabolu...
's debut album Sit Down, Man
Sit Down, Man
Sit Down, Man is the second mixtape by Brooklyn based alternative hip hop act Das Racist, released as a free download on September 14, 2010, through the groups own Greedhead imprint, streetwear label Мишка and Mad Decent records.-History:...
, which was released September 2010.
Boi-1da was recently, April 2011, confirmed to be working on Drake's second album, Take Care, which was released November 15 2011, as well as Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins' debut album, Still Cool. Boi-1da currently searches for new talent using Blazetrak.com.
ASCAP Pop Music Awards
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) hosts a series of awards shows, honoring people in different music categories; pop musicPop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
is one of its seven categories. In 2011, Drake presented the award to him and 40, They both won the ASCAP Pop Music Award for the Songwriters of the Year for "Over".
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | "Over Over (Drake song) "Over" is a song by Canadian recording artist, Drake. The song serves as the lead single from his debut album, Thank Me Later. It was written by Drake with Boi-1da, and produced by the latter and Al Khaaliq. The single was released for digital download on March 8, 2010. The song is midtempo hip-hop... " |
Songwriters of the Year (with Noah "40" Shebib) |
Grammy Awards
The Grammy AwardGrammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc., known variously as The Recording Academy or NARAS, is a U.S. organization of musicians, producers, recording engineers and other recording professionals dedicated to improving the quality of life and cultural condition for music and its...
. Boi-1da has been nominated five times and has won two.
|-
|rowspan="2"|2010
52nd Grammy Awards
The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards took place on January 31, 2010, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Neil Young was honored as the 2010 MusiCares Person of the Year on January 29, two days prior to the Grammy telecast. Only ten of the 109 awards were received during the broadcast...
|rowspan="2"|"Best I Ever Had
Best I Ever Had (Drake song)
"Best I Ever Had" is the first single from Canadian rapper Drake's first EP So Far Gone. It first became prominent from the release of Drake's third mixtape of the same name. In 2009, the song was named the "Hot Rap Song" of the year by Billboard. The song's popularity helped Drake decide to...
" (Drake
Drake (entertainer)
Aubrey Drake Graham , who records under the mononym Drake, is a Canadian recording artist and actor. He originally became known for playing Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation....
)
|Best Rap Song
Grammy Award for Best Rap Song
The Grammy Award for Best Rap Song was first awarded in 2004. It is a songwriting award given to all who wrote the lyrics and music of the song. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were presented, for works released in the previous year...
|
|-
|Best Rap Solo Performance
Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance was awarded from 1991 to 2011, alongside the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. Previously a single award was presented for Best Rap Performance....
|
|-
|rowspan="5"|2011
53rd Grammy Awards
The 53rd annual Grammy Awards were held on February 13, 2011, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. They were broadcast on CBS with a rating of 26.6 million viewers. Barbra Streisand was honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year two nights prior to the telecast on February 11. Nominations were...
|"Not Afraid
Not Afraid
Not to be confused with Eminem's Not AfraidNot Afraid is the debut studio album by Christian pop rock singer Stephanie Smith. It was released on May 27, 2008 through Gotee Records...
" (Eminem
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
)
|Best Rap Song
|
|-
|"Not Afraid" (Eminem)
|rowspan="2"|Best Rap Solo Performance
|
|-
|"Over
Over (Drake song)
"Over" is a song by Canadian recording artist, Drake. The song serves as the lead single from his debut album, Thank Me Later. It was written by Drake with Boi-1da, and produced by the latter and Al Khaaliq. The single was released for digital download on March 8, 2010. The song is midtempo hip-hop...
" (Drake)
|
|-
|"Recovery" (Eminem)
|rowspan="2"|Best Rap Album
Grammy Award for Best Rap Album
The Grammy Award for Best Rap Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums with rapping at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards...
|
|-
|"Thank Me Later
Thank Me Later
Thank Me Later is the debut studio album of Canadian recording artist Drake, released June 15, 2010, on Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Universal Motown Records...
" (Drake)
|
External links
- Official Blog
- Boi-1da at MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- HipHopCanada.com Interview