It’s hard to imagine him producing his tracks in an unfinished basement in Ajax, Ontario with FL Studio (Fruity Loops) as his only tool, but that’s how some of Boi-1da’s breakthrough beats were created, including the 2009 song that broke Drake to an international audience “Best I Ever Had.”

Matthew Samuels was born in Jamaica, but he moved to Canada at the age of 5, growing up in both Scarborough and Ajax. His mother bought him a Casio keyboard at the age of 8, and a friend of his introduced him to Fruity Loops when he was just 15-years-old. After winning three Battle of the Beatmaker competitions in a row, Boi-1da was given a permanent spot on the judging panel which he still holds today.

Through working with Drake on his early mixtapes, Boi-1da secured some key relationships with the biggest entities in hip-hop, including Young Money, Eminem and Dr. Dre. He also secured some notoriety locally, through working with Kardinal Offishall on a single that featured Virginia Beach rappers The Clipse. It wasn’t until Boi-1da produced “The Best I Ever Had” for Drake that his music was heard on a global scale. The orchestral sampled arrangement that Boi-1da put together in his basement studio peaked at #2 on the Hot 100, and introduced the world to both Boi-1da and Drizzy Drake.

From there on out, Boi-1da has taken advantage of the notoriety that comes with producing for Drake, working with Birdman, Eminem, Dr. Dre, Soulja Boy and more. His work has been nominated for seven Grammys (he’s won two, for his work on Eminem’s “Not Afraid”), and he’s one of the most sought after producers in mainstream hip-hop and pop music today. Let’s check out some of his best beats to date on this week’s Friday Mixtape.