BY KEVIN JACKSON—
Three Jamaican musicians based in Canada are credited on Barbadian star Rihanna’s eighth studio album ANTI. They are Matthew ‘Boi-1da’ Samuels, Jahron ‘PartyNextDoor’ Brathwaite and Sevn Thomas.
They worked on the album’s first single, Work, a reggae/pop tune which features Canadian rapper Drake. The single topped the iTunes charts in more than 70 countries on its digital release Wednesday.
Samuels, who has racked up an impressive account producing and co-writing hits for Kendrik Lamar, Drake, Eminem, Jay-Z and Nicki Minaj, wrote and co-produced Work with Brathwaite, Thomas and Canadian Allen Ritter.
Thomas’s production credits include Low by Mobb Deep, Love For The 6 by Tre Capital, and Love Me Til I Die by Kelly Rowland. His instrumental EP, Hidden Hand, was released in 2014.
Samuels was born in Kingston but relocated to Scarborough, Canada at age three. He explained how he was drafted into the Anti sessions.
“I got involved just by doing music with PartyNextDoor. He was working on a song for Rihanna. I also co-produced a bonus track on her album, Sex With Me, with another producer Frank Dukes,” he explained.
Work was conceptualised last summer when Thomas, Ritter and Boi-1da were staying at Drake’s house in Los Angeles. Thomas described the time spent there as a “beat factory; everyone was sitting there working and collaborating with each other”.
He created a beat which was dancehall-influenced and later played it for Boi-1da.
“We’re both Jamaican-Canadian. It was just something in our DNA, so it woke him up and we started remembering all these old dancehall songs from the ‘90’s,” Thomas recalled.
He said Samuels came up with the idea for sampling an old school dancehall rhythm.
“After that the chords were made and everything went organically,” he said.
When the music was finished, Boi-1da sent it to Braithwaite who wrote the lyrics.
“He’s an incredible writer and he’s Jamaican as well. I think that’s how he’s able to come up with those vibes and feels. After Drake heard the song, he loved it and decided to write and record a verse on it,” said Thomas. Samuels is not surprised that Work has made an instant impact.
“The response has been good but others have been mixed. Some people don’t understand the patois and dancehall, which I grew up on. It’s a great song for the majority, because the groove and the vibe is there. It’s like perfect matrimony.”
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