Party like it’s NINETEEN85
PRODUCER Nineteen85 is among a growing list of Jamaicans (or of Jamaican heritage) playing major roles in pop music.
He is among the in-house producers at Canadian rapper Drake’s OVO Sound label, alongside Jamaican Boi-1da.
Born Anthony Paul in Toronto, Canada, his mother is from May Pen, Clarendon. Nineteen85 is currently enjoying success with the Nicki Minaj hit, Truffle Butter, which also features Drake and rapper Lil Wayne.
In January, the song peaked at number six on Billboard’s R&B Hip Hop Songs chart, and number 22 on the Hot 100 Singles chart.
Prior to Truffle Butter, he produced the 2013 Billboard number one R&B single, Hold On (We’re Going Home) by Drake, featuring the duo Majid Jordan.
Nineteen85 told Splash how he got involved with OVO Sound.
“I have known Drake and Noah ’40’ Shebib (co-founder of OVO Sound) for years. It was just a matter of the right timing connecting us all again,” he said.
His first major single was My Story by R Kelly, on Kelly’s 12th album Black Panties. The single reached number 27 on the Billboard R&B Hip Hop Songs chart and number 89 on the Hot 100 chart.
Since then, he has worked with the likes of singer/actress Jennifer Hudson, rapper Juicy J, Minaj, and British singer Jessie Ware.
Drake’s Hold On (We’re Coming Home), is Nineteen85’s biggest success to date, having sold over two million copies in the United States.
“We all like family, so we were just bouncing ideas off each other while we were working on Drake’s album. At first I knew it was big, but not THAT big. It took a while for that to really sink in,” he said of Hold On.
Truffle Butter was a different case.
“It’s a track that Drake and I have had since his album Nothing Was The Same. We always knew it was huge but the timing had to be right. That’s one of those songs that you just knew was going to be big,” he explained.
Music production was not Anthony Paul’s first career choice. He once aspired to be a professional sound system selector but financial challenges ended those aspirations.
“I couldn’t afford the turntables. At the time producing was the next best thing,” he said.
Nineteen85 is yet to work with a major dancehall act, but is not averse to this.
“I definitely haven’t incorporated my Jamaican heritage in my work as much as I would like to. I just need to find a way to do it more naturally,” he said.
