Last month, on the night before his 30th birthday, Drake hosted a special episode of his label's bi-weekly Beats 1 radio show, and he used the occasion to announce a new project and premiere four new songs, three of which are set to appear on More Life, set to arrive in December. He began with the brooding, lyrical "Two Birds One Stone," on which he addressed all the controversies he's involved in, and then dropped a remix of "Wanna Know," a song by 17-year-old London rapper Dave. Then came something much harder: "Sneakin'," featuring the fearsome 21 Savage.
It was unexpected even though a collab had been speculated upon before the show. "Sneakin'" begins with ominous stabs of guitar, before a sudden record scratch, which welcomes a strange, winding synth that grabs hold of the listener like a descending UFO. At about the 20 second mark, one hears "We got London On Da Track." The rest is history. I remember the goosebumps racing up my arms after hearing the familiar beat tag (shout-out to Skooly).
London On Aa Track, who is also responsible for some of Young Thug's best material as well as songs for T.I., 50 Cent, Lil Wayne, and Dae Dae, with whom he just released an 11-track project (The DefAnition), recently visited the Genius' HQ in Brooklyn to provide a tutorial on how he came up with the sensational "Sneakin'" production. He explains creating the melody first and then "the knock," and he recalls the emoji correspondence he had with Drake when they sent the song back and forth. Watch below, and listen to "Sneakin'" here.
Read our Behind The Beat profile of London On Da Track here.