At the 2025 Juno Awards—Canada’s equivalent of the Grammys—Toronto’s own Boi-1da was honored with the prestigious International Achievement Award. As an in-house producer for OVO Sound, he has played a pivotal role in shaping Drake’s sound, crafting hits like God’s Plan, 0 to 100, Miss Me, and countless others over nearly two decades. Naturally, during his acceptance speech, he took a moment to give Drake his well-earned flowers.
“I want to give a huge shoutout to my brother Drake, the greatest rapper of all time, the greatest artist of all time—and he’s from Canada,” Boi-1da declared around the 4:20 mark of the speech. “Drizzy Drake—that’s my brother. Listen, me and Drake, we started this together, we did this together. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for Drake, man.”
He continued, “All the sacrifices he made, all the doors he kicked down for a lot of people. So shoutout to Drake, that’s my brother. Thank you for life, man. I love that guy.”
Boi-1da has long been vocal in his support for Drake, standing by him throughout his career, including the recent fallout from his feud with Kendrick Lamar. He even clapped back at Ebro Darden’s claim that Toronto lacks a distinctive sound, calling it “horse shit,” while also dismissing West Coast rap as “ass.”
In a recent interview with CBC, Boi-1da reflected on his first encounter with Drake back when the rapper was still on Degrassi.
“The very first day we met, we ended up doing our very first song together called Do What You Do, and it became a local smash,” he recalled. “[It was] very exciting because I’d never had a song on the radio before, and that song was probably in high rotation on Canadian radio.”
From local hits to global chart domination, Boi-1da and Drake’s brotherhood continues to shape the sound of an era.
