Montego Bay producer Mxssivh lands credits on Drake’s Iceman and Maid of Honour releases

Canadian rapper Drake put out three albums at once on Friday, May 15 — Iceman, Maid of Honour, and Habibti — and Montego Bay beat-maker, producer, and rapper Mxssivh appears among the producers on two of the songs.

His name is on New Bestie, a cut from Maid of Honour whose lyrics mention dancehall artiste Vybz Kartel. He also shares production credit on Ran to Atlanta, a Drake track with Future and Molly Santana that sits on Iceman.

Cross-border credits are already familiar territory for Mxssivh. In 2019, at age 18, he crafted Cinderella and Waterfall for Russian trap rapper Kizaru’s triple-platinum album Karmageddon, and he produced Carousel for Kizaru’s double-platinum EP Say No Mo.

Speaking exclusively to the Jamaica Observer on Friday, Mxssivh — born Justin Junagadala — outlined how he reached Drake’s camp. “I actually was working with people very close to him. I flew out to Canada for the Vybz Kartel show and I met with a couple people. I then went to Miami and worked with my other boys who work with the Drake’s OVO label very closely and we got to this point.

“I feel blessed to be a part of this. I’ve been working on this project for the last few years, and I was shocked to see it turn into three albums,” said Mxssivh.

On what the placement means for how others read his skill set, he said: “It shows my versatility. The fact that I was able to show my talent in trap music and not solely dancehall in which people know me from.”

Mxssivh began chasing music seriously as a teenager. “I always had love for music from I was a kid. I couldn’t sleep without listening to music and I was playing piano as a little kid. I started listening to trap music and EDM (electronic dance music) and found a liking for the beats more, and the rest is history,” he recalled.

He grew up in West Gate, St James, and went to Heinz Simonitch and Hillel Academy. As a youth, he said others saw him as quiet and inward.

Mxssivh, who mixes and masters his own work, described what he believes sets his catalogue apart. “My sound is different from everybody else when it comes to the beats and the actual songs. I feel you have to be original and not follow anybody else. If you want to make it you have to be willing to try whatever. Zone out and go into a whole other world. Creativity is what matters now,” he said.

His résumé includes sessions with Rude Jerms, Squash, Valiant, Stalk Ashley, Trippie Redd, Skillibeng, and more. “A lot of doors have opened, and it has become easier for me to contact artistes. It makes it easier for them to take me serious about what I do,” he shared.

He points to his mother as the first push toward instruments. “My mom has a really strong passion for music, and she played drums in marching bands. When I was six years old she made me play the piano, and that’s where my love for music grew,” he explained. “I was an antisocial kid, that’s why I ended up doing music. I didn’t have that many friends and I was always listening to music and making beats.”

Beyond production, he records as an artist under the name Bvsed Justin. “Man, I got my official producer album on the way with all the top artistes locally and a few internationally as well as my first official album as an artiste myself. Also got a few big projects I’m working on right now, stay tuned, the show isn’t over,” he disclosed.