Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin 'Coach K' Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021.Īron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Wu-Tang Clan's 'C.R.E.A.M.' is also sampled on 'Pound Cake', where the chorus is chopped throughout the song.Aron A. At that time, who’s going to say no? I was just grateful to be on the album.”

If I was going to be on that hook, I probably would’ve said different things. “I wrote it as a reference and it ended up making the album. “I wasn’t supposed to be on that hook ,” Drake says of The Blueprint 3’s trend-snubbing album cut. But he’s such a good guy, he was like, ‘I gave you my word.’ I don’t know what I’d do without that guy sometimes, he’s just full of gems and advice.”ĭrake adds that he’s proud of the collaborations that he’s done with Hov, from “Pound Cake” to Thank Me Later’s “Light Up.” But there’s one that he would’ve done differently. For Drake’s song Pound Cake, (featured on his 2013 album, Nothing Was the Same), Drake samples Jimmy Smith’s spoken word record, Jimmy Smith Rap, to creatively allude to his own album’s recording process and add commentary on the longevity of real music. “I sent the song back to Jay-and that was when it almost became a Jay-Z song. “The beat brought the Jay verses to life,” Drake says. “I was like, this is like some Foxy Brown album cut… too Ill Na Na,” he quipped, referencing Foxy’s debut LP.īoi-1da cracked the code with what would become the final instrumental. Soon after, Noah “40” Shebib to cooked up a beat that Drake says was good, but a bit too nostalgic. He sent me the two verses acappella-he told me, I never do this.” “I had the nerve to ask Jay if I could not only get that song from him,” Drake remembers, “but if I could get the acappella because I had an idea for it.

Pound cake drake sample intro