Billboard‘s newest cover star PartyNextDoor hasn’t just established himself as an alternative R&B auteur over the last decade, but he’s also cemented himself as one of pop music’s most sought-out hitmakers.
After becoming the first recording artist signed to Drake‘s OVO label in 2013, Party has made hit after hit with The Boy. He provided background vocals on “Own It” and “Come Thru” on Drake’s 2013 album Nothing Was the Same, and he co-wrote and produced “Legend,” “Preach” and “Wednesday Night Interlude” on 2015’s If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late, while also serving as a featured artist on the latter two songs. “Preach” earned PND his first Billboard Hot 100 entry in 2015. And he earned an album of the year Grammy nomination in 2017 for contributing to Views (he has a co-writing credit on “U with Me?”).
He’s also been behind some of Rihanna‘s biggest hits, like the nine-week Hot 100 No. 1 “Work,” featuring Drake, and DJ Khaled‘s seven-week No. 2 “Wild Thoughts,” featuring Bryson Tiller. Donald Glover recently called “Sex With Me” — another ANTI track Party co-wrote — the “GOAT” Rihanna song. And some fans and critics have argued that his leaked reference tracks for those songs sound better than their final versions.
When it comes to demos, Party told Billboard, “I’m just trying to get these ideas out. And if I took the time to record it, that’s when I don’t give the record out. [If] I did all the background vocals, I sang it properly like a vocalist, that’s when it’s harder to give it away. So it’s easier to give it away while it’s just a skeleton and you’re just talking through things.”
Billboard rounded up seven songs PartyNextDoor co-wrote and/or -produced, which other artists recorded.
Party’s first credit on a Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) record was “Waves” from his 2016 album The Life of Pablo. Even though it was never released as an official single, the fan-favorite track went three-times platinum last May and features uncredited vocals by Chris Brown and Kid Cudi. Party and Ye reunited two years later on “Wouldn’t Leave” and “Ghost Town” on the 2018 album Ye, and the latter song earned PND his highest-charting hit on the Hot 100 (No. 16).
Party and his frequent collaborator Prep Bijan (who’s signed to JA Publishing Group, PND’s joint venture with Warner Chappell Music) co-wrote and co-produced “Let Me” from Usher‘s 2016 album Hard II Love. While doing promo for the album that year, Usher stopped by Funkmaster Flex’s Hot 97 radio show and “freestyled” one of the verses, saying “Let Me” was “a joint that I worked on with my homie Party.”
DJ Khaled tapped PartyNextDoor to help write a couple of records on his 2017 album Grateful, including “Wild Thoughts” and “Shining,” featuring Beyoncé and Jay-Z. The latter song was released as a surprise shortly after the 2017 Grammy Awards, when Queen B took home the trophy for best urban contemporary album with Lemonade and best music video with “Formation.” “Shining” samples Osunlade’s 2013 track “Dionne,” which in turn samples Dionne Warwick‘s “Way the Way You Talk” from 1970. Party was also a featured artist on “Down for Life,” alongside Future, Travis Scott, Rick Ross and Kodak Black, on the same album.
Party and Prep Bijan co-wrote and -produced “Talkin’ Shots” from Post Malone‘s 2018 album beerbongs & bentleys. PND’s signature patois comes out in the first verse when Post sings, “Me and Dre came for the pum pum.”
When asked about a song fans wouldn’t have expected him to have worked on during the interview for his latest Billboard cover story, Party answered Christina Aguilera‘s “Maria” from her 2018 album Liberation. The song, which Party co-wrote alongside Kanye West (who also co-produced the track) and more, samples Michael Jackson‘s “Maria (You Were the Only One)” from 1972. In her 2018 Billboard cover story, Aguilera named “Maria” as her favorite song off the album.
Party co-wrote “Trap Star” from City Girls‘ 2018 debut album Girl Code. His frequent collaborator and fellow Canadian producer Murda Beatz produced the song.
Party co-wrote the Travis Scott-assisted “The Blinding” from Jay Electronica‘s 2020 debut album A Written Testimony. His frequent collaborator G.Ry, who’s signed to JA Publishing Group, also co-wrote and co-produced the song.
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