Nineteen85

Paul Jefferies

Toronto, Ontario·b. 1985

Nineteen85 — Paul Jefferies — is the Toronto producer-writer behind some of Drake's clearest pop pivots. His name is on the publishing credits for "Hold On, We're Going Home" (the 2013 Nothing Was the Same crossover ballad), "Hotline Bling" (the 2015 single that built off the Timmy Thomas "Why Can't We Live Together" rhythm), "One Dance" (the 2016 Wizkid/Kyla collaboration that became Drake's first solo Hot 100 No. 1), "Too Good," and "Controlla." Each of those records was a moment where the Drake catalog moved closer to adult-contemporary R&B and Caribbean-inflected pop, and Nineteen85's writing favors clean drum machines, warm synth pads, and song forms that read closer to pop than to traditional rap. He is also one half of the OVO duo dvsn alongside vocalist Daniel Daley, and the dvsn body of slow R&B work informs much of his Drake credit list. Outside the catalog he has co-written for Nicki Minaj, Jamie Foxx, Majid Jordan, and Roy Woods, several of whom share the OVO Sound roster. His peak run on Drake records coincided with Views and More Life, when the project was actively expanding into Afrobeats, dancehall, and house. He remains an OVO Sound staple and one of the label's most consistent pop-leaning writers.