Boi-1da has been behind your favourite songs for about a decade now, and he’s not going to stop any time soon. Ajax’s favourite son recently gave an interview with the BBC’s DJ Semtex as part of A Nation of Billions’ How Hip-Hop Saved Me podcast. It spans 1da’s entire career, beginning with early production placements on the Dipset Christmas album to his present status as the maker of some of the heaviest beats in rap.
On his process, 1-da says:
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It’s all ear to me. Some people are worried about peaking or things being too loud but I’m not concerned…. My meters are always going red.
On the subject of his beat that knocks the most, 1-da offers Drake’s “Energy” as the clear winner, tied with his leviathan of a beat for Kendrick Lamar’s “The Blacker the Berry.” He goes deep into his love for Timbaland (“He’s a beat god to me.”) and not only reminisces on how Tim was immediately impressed by Drake’s “Over” but shares how he and Tim are working on new music for Bryson Tiller. There’s also a mention of Massachusetts rapper Joyner Lucas, who’s the first signee to 1da’s label. Listen to the whole interview here.
Phil is a Noisey Canada staff writer. He’s on Twitter.
