Toronto teen producer credits Drake collaboration
16-year-old Markham-based Arham Paul helped craft an '80s-style intro for songs on Drake's new trilogy project.
A Toronto-area teenager got a call that changed his life: a beatmaker friend needed help finishing a song for Drake's upcoming project, and there was no time to waste.
Arham Paul, a 16-year-old producer from Markham who records under the name ap.melodies, spent a night last summer building out a slow, sensual '80s-style intro alongside Miami-based producer Sebas Lopez. The collaboration was born from urgency—his beatmaker friend had been tapped for Drake's new work and needed a creative hand immediately.
"I was shocked because I didn't expect him to credit me," Paul said. The production work landed him a spot on Drake's new trilogy, an accomplishment that rippled back to his school life. "My principal asked, 'Are you on the Drake album?'" Paul recalls.
The opportunity speaks to how Toronto's music production landscape has become more interconnected with top-tier artists. Young producers can now reach major projects through a network of collaborators, even from a bedroom studio. For Paul, the experience at 16 validates a path many young producers in the city are pursuing—building technical skills early and staying plugged into the city's creative community.
The collaboration hints at Drake's ongoing investment in mentoring production talent and building beats from younger voices in the city where he grew up.