Inside The Credits 036: Gordo, London Cyr, Ben10k, Eli Brown
The Quadruple Pronged Drake Proficiency of Gordo, London Cyr, Ben10k, & Eli Brown
As Drake has begun to roll out releases post beef via his 100 gigs of content drops that include new songs, one track to me has prevailed as the sheer standout, “Circadian Rhythm.” There are three things at play about it: it doesn’t rely on any of the obvious critiques Kendrick threw at Drake to exist, it’s a quintessential Drake song which shows off all of his best qualities, and (most importantly for the sake of this Substack) the beat is absolutely sensational. The track has an instrumental that relies on two main qualities to stand out: space and transitions. The verses have an open cadence that is made up of only light trap-adjacent percussion and simplistic garden-snake-like synths. I used that last animal reference because the synths sort of slither, but aren’t venomous-sounding. Then when the hook hits you get quintessential 2000s hip hop chipmunk soul vocal sample chops which Drake juxtaposes with as sticky and simple a hook melody as you’ll hear. The song is pure synchronicity.
I felt an urge on my umpteenth listen to figure out how this symbiosis came to be. I subconsciously knew it was more than one instrumental voice that put this together and it was. To my knowledge this was the first time Gordo, London Cyr, Ben10k, and Eli Brown’s sounds all collided for one track. Some of them had connected before separately, but not all at once. So for the first time, I decided to track the credit histories of four producers to find the root of what they brought to one beat.
It started in 2013 with Gordo when he went by his first stage name, Carnage. From then to 2017 there are three songs that he produced that feel like they provided core elements of the sounds necessary to make “Circadian Rhythm.” “Keep It Real” by KYLE has potent sample chops (though not of vocals), “Bricks” by Carnage feat. Migos has trap drums and production behind both rapping and hip hop melodies from Quavo, and finally “Buddha” by G-Eazy feat. Smokepurpp feels like a proving ground for leaving enough space for a rapper to finesse a natural flow.
London Cyr entered the fold in 2018 producing two songs of his own that provided other essential elements. “CAN’T SAY” by Travis Scott added an essential glide and “LLSD” by Smoke Dawg is the first instrumental by any of the producers behind a Toronto rapper. While Eli Brown did start producing in 2019, the furthering of necessary elements that year still came from Gordo and London Cyr. Gordo produced “Don’t Get Me Started” by Pia Mia & Gunna which helped him add some verve to Cyr’s glide, but more importantly, he produced “Voss” by XXXtentacion feat. Sauce Walka. This track contains the first emergence of a snake-like synth. However, this one is much more menacing than the eventual melancholy-filled one for Drake. London Cyr added fuel to the fire with his production on Travis Scott and Don Toliver’s “WHAT TO DO?,” the best song from the Cactus Jack label’s compilation tape JACKBOYS. That song is a masterclass in how to instrumentally support an undeniably sticky and simple melodic hook.
The year of the pandemic, 2020, presented the emergence of Eli Brown finding sounds that would lead to “Circadian Rhythm.” On the French rap song “Interstellaire” by Colorrland and the American rap song “Out” by Young X, he not only explored dynamic beat transitions, but also created synth sounds which leaned towards a tamer snake-like realm. Then on “Janet Freestyle (Remix)” by Problem and “Syndrome” by Baby Dior he became the first producer to make instrumentals bound together by vocal samples. London Cyr had a significant 2020 as well, producing “Know My Rights” by 6lack feat. Lil Baby and “Training Day” by Dougie F which added the essential element of imperious swagger to the eventual soundscape.
Ben10k finally met the rest of the producers at the beginning of 2021 with three songs he produced for Sacramento rapper Stunna Girl. The final element that was missing was synth layering which is starkly present on her tracks, “10 TIMES,” “NO REAL BITCHES LEFT,” and “WHERE YOU BELONG.” He starts with a singular repeatable synth pattern then slowly builds each song by either blending that original pattern into a more rounded mix or folding in other synth sequences on top of it. Yet, he never allows the sonic space to feel overcrowded. All the producers needed now was to move into each other’s orbits.
Eli Brown was the first person to officially produce for Drake on his 2021 song “In The Bible” feat, Giveon & Lil Durk off of Certified Lover Boy. Gordo followed by producing five songs for Drake’s 2022 dance music pivot Honestly, Nevermind. Yet, none of the producers would be in the same realm until Ben10k and London Cyr both produced songs on the 2022 Metro Marrs project Last Train to Mars. Then, more significantly, they met again on the 2023 Mike Dimes project TEXAS BOY. The second track on that album, “WHISKEY AND WEED,” is the first time any of the four producers actually produced together on the same song. London Cyr and Ben10k seemed to have immediate chemistry. The song is arguably the most effective on the album due to its beatswitch. The first half of the track contains stretched vocal sampling, open and building drum patterns, and sleek piano layering. Then the second half transitions into pulsating trap drums, sharper and shorter vocal chops, and punchy horns. Each half blends into the other seamlessly begging the question of whether the worlds could be combined into a masterpiece. They just needed two more instrumental voices to complete the puzzle.
Eli Brown and Gordo would both produce on Drake’s 2023 album For All The Dogs which led to all the producers coming together for the 100 gigs drops in 2024. At least two of the producers have had a hand in “Housekeeping Knows” feat. Latto, “It’s Up” feat. Young Thug and 21 Savage, and “No Face,” but the only song that all four touched is “Circadian Rhythm.” It seems like Drake is forming a new core of producers for his next era. Potentially, if he keeps combining all of their forces of sound, he could continue to build momentum, even with Kendrick continually dampening his re-emergence with things like Super Bowl performance announcements.
Inside The Credits 036: Gordo, London Cyr, Ben10k, Eli Brown- The Playlists