Much has been made of Drake' partnership with Noah "40" Shebib, but equally important to his success has been the quartet of producers of Boi-1da, Vinylz, Allen Ritter, Frank Dukes that often put their heads together to feed him a nearly endless supply of potential hits.
A 27-year-old native of Washington Heights in Upper Manhattan, Anderson "Vinylz" Hernandez is best known for his work with Drake, but in the past four years he has also partnered with top-of-the-line stars like Rihanna, Jay Z, Tinashe, Meek Mill, Fabolous, Nicki Minaj, Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, G-Eazy, Jeremih, PartyNextDoor, and J. Cole. Click through the gallery to hear 10 of his most essential productions.
Jay Z - "FuckWithMeYouKnowIGotIt" feat. Rick Ross
Vinylz provided the initial sketch "FuckWithMeYouKnowIGotIt," which he co-produced with Boi-1da, Timbaland and J-Roc. In an interview with XXL, he explained that the beat was inspired by the Pimp C sample that appears in the song's intro:
“I did the beat first; I started the beat and I sent it to Boi-1da. This beat took like five minutes to make and I sent it to Boi-1da and he was like, ‘Yo this is crazy. I got a idea for it.’ So then he laid down whatever he did and he sent it to Rick Ross, to Spiff TV. And then I guess Rick Ross loved it and he wanted to use it for his album, and then probably like two months later, or a month later whatever, Boi-1da just text me like, ‘Yo we made Jay-Z’s album.’"
Drake - "0 to 100 / The Catch Up"
Co-produced with Boi-1da, 40, and Nineteen85 "0 to 100" features the sort of grimy, scraping, detuned flavor that later appeared on J Cole's "A Tale of Two Citiez." "The Catch Up," which samples an unreleased James Blake song, revisits the full-bodied, nostalgic, nocturnal vibes that defined Drake's breakout EP So Far Gone.
Jeremih - "Planez" feat. J Cole
Though "Planez" is ostensibly about having sex on private jet, it perfectly captures the sensation of falling asleep on a redeye commercial flight -- the ambient synth that rides the tonic note throughout the song makes the listener feel resolution and maybe even peace.
Big Sean - "Blessings" feat. Drake & Kanye West
The theme of "Blessings" is gratitude to the divine, the beat, produced by Vinylz and Allen Ritter, evokes the awakening of Stan's hellspawn -- thus making the song a snug fit on an album called "Dark Sky Paradise."
Drake - "Know Yourself"
In an interview with HNHH, Vinylz explained that he made the "Know Yourself" beat with Boi-1ida a few years back, during possibly the most productive marathon studio session of his career:
"'Know Yourself' was made around the time we made 'No New Friends.' This was around 2013 I’d say, or probably before that. We were in Drake’s house working, and me Allen Ritter and 1da made at least 20 beats in like 3 days. 'Chi-Raq' came out of that, 'No New Friends,' '5AM In Toronto.'"
J Cole - "A Tale of Two Citiez" / Kendrick Lamar - "Black Friday"
The best example of Vinylz' penchant for detuned synths may be "A Tale of Two Citiez," in which his icy production heightens the dissonance between the two sides of Fayettevile that Cole explores in the song.
Kendrick Lamar would later rap over the same beat on "Black Friday."
Meek Mill - "R.I.C.O." feat. Drake
In an interview with HNHH, Vinylz suggested that he almost permanently erased the beat that would eventually became "R.I.C.O." before Meek Mill ever heard it:
"I'm always criticizing myself. A lot of my hit records were almost deleted. Every single beat that I've placed I said it was trash or it ended up in the trash. Usually when my friend Allen Ritter is at the crib. You'll hear me making a beat and then the music stops, and he'll be like 'you deleted it didn't you?'. Then he goes in the recycling bin later and takes it out."
Drake - "5AM in Toronto" & "4PM In Calabasas"
Vinylz seems to have a knack for creating beats that remind Drake of specific times of day in specific places.
Travis Scott & Young Thug - "Pick Up The Phone" f/ Quavo
The aqueous, textured steel-drum of "Pick Up The Phone" is just the type of stuff Sebastian the crab from "The Little Mermaid" jams out to in his spare time. It is also an evocative metaphor for how Scott or Thug feels when they just consumed a "four" of Actavis and are eager to rendezvous with one of their ladyfriends.
Co-produced by Vinylz and Frank Dukes.
Drake - "Fake Love"
"Fake Love" contains the same sonic hallmarks and infectious quality of "Pick Up The Phone." It is not a coincidence that both songs are co-produced by Vinylz and Frank Dukes. "Fake Love" is the umpteenth potential hit they have produced for Drake. What will they cook up next?