APPLE MUSIC

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Strombo with David Strickland. The Indigenous artist and producer on his remix LP and heritage.

David Strickland's 'Spirit of Hip Hop' Celebrates the Genre's Indigenous Connections

Mentored by production legend Noel ‘Gadget’ Campbell, Grammy and JUNO award-winning audio engineer and producer David Strickland has been a crucial denominator behind the success of numerous groundbreaking acts in Toronto.

He has mixed songs for Drake, Method Man, Redman and many more but David Strickland says he just assumes nobody knows who he is.

Toronto’s David “Gordo” Strickland worked on Drake’s debut studio album Thank Me Later a decade ago, but Aubrey Graham was still a kid when the destined producer, engineer, and mixer got his start in Toronto’s burgeoning hip-hop scene as a b-boy, then DJ—then behind the boards.

The Indigenous producer who's worked with everyone from Method Man to Drake is reconnecting with his roots

Inside the First-Ever International Indigenous Hip Hop Awards

Among the top recipients of these awards was Mi’kmaq   Grammy-winning music producer and artist David Strickland, who took home “Hip Hop Single of the Year,” “Collaboration of the Year,” and “Producer of the Year” for his album “Spirit of Hip Hop.”

We asked Strickland to tell us about some of the hidden-gem emcees on Spirit of Hip Hop, his revolutionary record that featured old school beats and lightning-fast verses from more than 30 Indigenous acts.