Boi-1Da Details Making Drake's "Diplomatic Immunity"

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Drake performs on the Coachella stage during day 2 of the Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival (Weekend 1) at the Empire Polo Club on April 15, 2017 in Indio, California.

Boi-1da provides some background information on Drake's "Diplomatic Immunity."

Drake shattered records when he dropped the Scary Hours EP. While much of that was due to the success of "God's Plan," which is currently sitting at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for the eighth consecutive week, he fed fans of his more lyrical efforts with "Diplomatic Immunity." The song was another effort that showcased Drake's incredible penmanship and reunited him with long-time collaborator and producer, Boi-1da. The two of them have delivered nothing but hits together. Boi-1da recently did a play by play of the "Diplomatic Immunity" beat and explained how the whole song came about.

Boi-1da joined Genius for their recent episode of "Decontructed" where he detailed creating Drake's single "Diplomatic Immunity." The producer first received a sample from Nick Brongers, who Boi-1da describes as someone who has a very cinematic tone to his sound. He skimmed through the track until he found a bar that resonated with him.

"Once I heard that part right there, I was like, 'Yeah, that sounds like magic to me," he said. "It sounds like you're on a yacht or something, sailing, over a luxurious dinner."

He ended up taking the sample and pitching it down a semitone because it sounded to bright to him which ultimately gave it that real mafioso sound. After adding some drums and a bassline, he knew Drake would fit perfectly on the beat.

"Right when I finished making this beat, I had to send it to Drake, because why not? I just really felt it was something that he could really get off on." He said, "He gave me the thumbs up on it and he said that he's gonna do something crazy to it, and he definitely delivered on that."


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Boi-1Da Details Making Drake's "Diplomatic Immunity"
About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.