Black Coffee, Gordo pick up production credits on Drake's unprecedently house-leaning LP, 'Honestly, Nevermind'

Across his past six studio albums, Drake‘s rap-focused, R&B-flirting formula was tried-and-true. But on his seventh, he flipped the script, stepping into house- and even Jersey Club-influenced waters to an unprecedented degree. Though the sonic strategy has proven to be divisive in the handful of hours that Honestly, Nevermind has been available to the masses, the expertise of the project’s executive producers can’t be disavowed. Black Coffee, who recently made history as the first African artist to win the Grammy Award for “Best Dance/Electronic Album” (Subconciously), is credited as one of the LP’s executive producers. The project, dedicated to the late Virgil Abloh, also benefits from the involvement of Gordo; the producer, formerly known as Carnage, produced six of the 14 songs on Honestly, Nevermind. It’s worth noting that Klahr x Lion, memorable for their past work with Swedish House Mafia, too score production credits, assisting on “Massive” and “Calling My Name.”

In the wee hours leading up to the album’s surprise release, Gordo confidently declared the Certified Lover Boy follow-up a “dance album.” Indeed, it largely is—and it’s far from the first time that Drake has courted the house genre. “Get It Together,” from 2017’s More Life, is one example; the lauded Jorja Smith feature sampled Black Coffee’s 2009 song, “Superman” and credited the Subconsciously album maker.

Spotify has since featured three of Honestly, Nevermind‘s tracklistings—”Falling Back,” “Sticky,” and “Massive”—on its “New Music Friday Cratediggers” playlist, dedicated to spotlighting “this week’s handpicked new dance and electronic music.” The LP, classified a “Dance” album by streaming platforms such as Apple Music, is available below.