Quick Facts
Biography
Matthew Jehu Samuels (born October 12, 1986), professionally known as Boi-1da (/ˌbɔɪˈwʌndə/ boy-WON-da), is a Canadian hip-hop producer from Toronto, Ontario. He has produced for artists and groups such as Clipse, The Diplomats, Drake, Eminem, Jay Z, Joe Budden, G-Unit, Nicki Minaj, k-os, Das Racist, Lecrae, Nas, Bizzle, Talib Kweli, Saukrates, Kendrick Lamar, Meek Mill and Chris Brown among others. He significantly collaborates with other producers who co-produce on his tracks, including The Maven Boys, Stephen Kozmeniuk, Vinylz and Allen Ritter, among others.
Early life and career
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Samuels moved to Canada when he was three, and grew up in the North York and Scarborough districts of Toronto. He was also raised in Ajax, Ontario, where he currently resides. At the age of eight, his mother bought him a Casio keyboard, and at the age of 15, a friend had introduced him to FL Studio (formerly Fruity Loops). Without any formal musical training, he started using the FL Studio beat-making program. A few years later, he won three consecutive Battle of the Beatmakers championships; because of this accomplishment, he was given a spot in the Battle of the Beatmakers judging panel.
His first production work was at the age of 18, when he worked on two tracks on a mixtape (Room for Improvement) for Drake.
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 12 to make beats, previously, he used Fruity Loops 3.56, 7 XL and 9. 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 beats for Dr. Dre's highly anticipated album, Detox, which was to be released in 2011. Unfortunately, the album was indefinitely shelved, and none of the released or leaked tracks by Dr. Dre featured Boi-1da's production. He had since stated that he was working with songwriter Sean Garrett and has submitted tracks for Usher. He's also working on Busta Rhymes' upcoming album, Extinction Level Event 2.
Boi-1da produced the hit song "Not Afraid", by Eminem, which premiered April 29, 2010; and "hahahaha jk?", from Das Racist's debut album Sit Down, Man, which was released September 2010.
In April 2011, Boi-1da was confirmed to be working on Drake's second album, Take Care, which was released November 15, 2011.
Boi-1da has worked with the rapper Lecrae on his song "Gimme a Second" from his mixtape Church Clothes. He has also collaborated with the rapper Bizzle for his album titled The Good Fight, released in May 7, 2013. He is also a member of Drake's October's Very Own with Noah "40" Shebib and T-Minus.
Boi-1da produced "Party Favors" for Tinashe for her sophomore studio album, Joyride. The single features Young Thug.
On January 8, 2016, Kanye West released a song titled "Real Friends" in which he credits Boi-1da for the sample.
Production discography
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B | US Rap | AUS | CAN | GER | IRL | NZ | SWI | UK | ||||
| "Set It Off" (Kardinal Offishall featuring Clipse) | 2008 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not 4 Sale | |
| "Best I Ever Had" (Drake) | 2009 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | 24 | — | — | — | — | 79 |
| So Far Gone |
| "Forever" (Drake featuring Kanye West, Lil Wayne & Eminem) | 8 | 2 | 1 | 99 | 26 | — | 41 | — | — | 42 | More Than a Game | ||
| "4 My Town (Play Ball)" (Birdman featuring Drake & Lil Wayne) | 90 | 37 | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Priceless | ||
| "Over" (Drake) | 2010 | 14 | 2 | 1 | — | 17 | — | — | — | — | 50 |
| Thank Me Later |
| "Not Afraid" (Eminem) | 1 | 70 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 5 |
| Recovery | |
| "Miss Me" (Drake featuring Lil Wayne) | 15 | 3 | 2 | — | 72 | — | — | — | — | 162 |
| Thank Me Later | |
| "Speakers Going Hammer" (Soulja Boy) | — | 47 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | The DeAndre Way | ||
| "Forgive Me" (Bizzle featuring Jin) | 2011 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Tough Love & Parabels | |
| "Headlines" (Drake) | 13 | 2 | 1 | — | 18 | — | — | — | — | 57 |
| Take Care | |
| "Get Low" (Waka Flocka Flame featuring Nicki Minaj, Tyga & Flo Rida) | 2012 | 72 | 62 | 25 | — | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | Triple F Life: Friends, Fans & Family | |
| "Goodbye" (Slaughterhouse) | — | 49 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Welcome to: Our House | ||
| "Turn 'Em Away" (Bizzle) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
| "Freedom" (Nicki Minaj) | — | 31 | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 107 | Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded – The Re-Up | ||
| "High School" (Nicki Minaj featuring Lil Wayne) | 2013 | 68 | 22 | 15 | 57 | 81 | 79 | 47 | — | — | 31 |
| |
| "No New Friends" (DJ Khaled featuring Drake, Rick Ross & Lil Wayne) | 37 | 9 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Suffering from Success | |
| "My Confession" (Bizzle featuring Sevin) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | The Good Fight | ||
| "I'm a Christian" (Bizzle) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "0 to 100 / The Catch Up" (Drake) | 2014 | 35 | 8 | 7 | — | 61 | — | — | — | — | 68 |
| non-album single |
| "The Blacker the Berry" (Kendrick Lamar) | 2015 | 66 | 32 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 83 | To Pimp a Butterfly | |
| "Work" (Rihanna featuring Drake) | 2016 | 1 | 1 | — | 10 | 7 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 24 | 4 |
| Anti |
| "Summer Sixteen" (Drake) | 6 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 12 | 97 | 89 | 8 | 63 | 23 | non-album single | ||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
Awards and nominations
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 music 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" | Songwriters of the Year (with Noah "40" Shebib) | Won |
Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Boi-1da has been nominated seven times and won one.
| Year | Nominee/work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "Best I Ever Had" (Drake) | Best Rap Song | Nominated |
| 2011 | "Not Afraid" (Eminem) | Nominated | |
| Recovery (Eminem) | Album of the Year | Nominated | |
| 2015 | "0 to 100 / The Catch Up" (Drake) | Best Rap Song | Nominated |
| 2016 | "Energy" (Drake) | Nominated | |
| To Pimp a Butterfly (Kendrick Lamar) | Album of the Year | Nominated | |
| 2017 | Views (Drake) | Pending | |
| Work (Rihanna) | Record of the Year | Pending |