40 (record producer)
Noah James Shebib (born March 31, 1983), better known as 40, is a Canadian record producer, songwriter, record executive, and former child actor from Toronto, Ontario. He is best known for his musical collaborations with Canadian rapper Drake and has produced all of his albums. Shebib's style of production, which is often downtempo and ambient, has become heavily associated with Drake's music.
40 | |
|---|---|
 Shebib in 2015 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Noah James Shebib |
| Born | March 31, 1983 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Years active | 1996–present |
| Labels | |
| Associated acts | |
Shebib and Drake are two of the three co-founders of the OVO Sound label. Shebib has won two Grammy Awards out of 14 nominations he has received and has also produced for artists including Lil Wayne, Alicia Keys, Action Bronson, and Jamie Foxx.
Early life
Noah James Shebib is the son of director Donald Shebib and actress Tedde Moore, who is known for appearing in the 1983 film A Christmas Story; she was pregnant with him during the production of that film.[1] On his mother's side, he is the grandson of actor and educator Mavor Moore, the great-grandson of Canadian theatre figure Dora Mavor Moore, and the great-great-grandson of Scottish-born economist James Mavor.[2] His father is of Lebanese and Irish descent.[3][4] He has older sisters, Zoe, Suzanna, and Chaunce.[5] As a child he attended school at Royal St. Georges College.
Acting career
Shebib began as a child actor, playing roles in television shows and films. His first role was in the 1996 "Go Eat Worms" episode of the Goosebumps television series. He also played a consistent role on the Gemini Award-winning television series, Wind at My Back. His best-known role came in his teen years, when he was featured as one of the lead males in the critically acclaimed The Virgin Suicides. He also had smaller roles in The Last Don and Perfect Pie; the latter was his last movie before he retired from acting.[6][7]
Music career
Early in Noah's career, before he started crafting beats, he DJ'd under the name DJ Chilly and performed alongside MC Elite (Everett MacLean). Shebib eventually made the shift from DJ to music producer, working with local Toronto artists like Empire, Knamelis, Stolenowners, and Christopher Morales, and Saukrates. He earned the nickname "40 Days & 40 Nights" (which was later reduced to "40") early on in his career, as he would work in the studio throughout the night, with no sleep.[8]
He began working with then Degrassi star Aubrey Graham (Drake) in 2005. He was shown producing with Drake on Degrassi Unscripted. When Shebib first started working with Drake, he was originally just a recording and mixing engineer, providing no songwriting or production input at all.[9] However, after the third day of work, Shebib decided to build an exclusive relationship with Drake, proclaiming that they were "going to take over the world together." [8]
Shebib's big break came in 2009, when he executive produced Drake's mixtape So Far Gone with Toronto-based producer, Boi-1da. He recorded and mixed every song off the mixtape, and also produced a few notable tracks such as "The Calm", "Houstatlantavegas", "Bria's Interlude" and "Successful", all of which ended up defining Drake's sound going forward.[10] He also worked on Drake's debut album Thank Me Later, and second album Take Care.[11] On the latter, Shebib co produced almost every song, alongside his usual duties of recording and mixing the entire album.[12] Shebib also produced the song "I'm Single" from Lil Wayne's "No Ceilings" mixtape, "Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)" for Alicia Keys and "Demonstrate" for JoJo.
Shebib, along with Drake and Oliver El-Khatib, founded the OVO record label in 2012. Music produced under the imprint is uploaded to the label's blog site for streaming, before the album is officially released.[13] One example is the single "Marvins Room", which was first posted to the blog site five days after its conception, before it was even slated to be a single off the album.[9] Recently Shebib has helped produce Drake's newer material, co producing the lead single "Started from the Bottom", among other records.[14]
Shebib also worked on Drake's third album, Nothing Was the Same,[15][16] his fourth studio album Views, and his latest album Scorpion.
Production style
Shebib has been instrumental in creating Drake's music, and together their "atmospheric, brooding sound has revitalised hip-hop."[9] Shebib's production is described as "sparse, ambient, slow-jam-like tracks dominated by brooding synths, minimalist piano or guitar parts, stripped-down, often muffled drums, and cinematic atmospheric treatments."[9] An example is the song "Marvins Room", where Shebib mixed the record so that it is "very dark and quiet and muddy and with the vocals cutting through like a razor" and is notorious for being heavy on the low end.[9]
Personal life
In 2005, at the age of 22, Shebib was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.[8][1] His personal story is prominently featured on the National Multiple Sclerosis Society website, where he outlines his experiences with the disease, hoping that by creating awareness and "improving connections and knowledge about MS, we can end the disease". His mother was also diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
Discography
Singles produced
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US |
US R&B |
US Rap |
AUS |
CAN |
GER |
IRL |
NZ |
SWI |
UK | ||||
| "Successful" (Drake featuring Trey Songz) |
2009 | 17 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
|
So Far Gone and Ready |
| "I'm Single" (Lil Wayne) |
2010 | 82 | 38 | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | I Am Not a Human Being | |
| "Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)" (Alicia Keys) |
21 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | The Element of Freedom | ||
| "Miss Me" (Drake featuring Lil Wayne) |
15 | 3 | 2 | — | 73 | — | — | — | — | — |
|
Thank Me Later | |
| "Fancy" (Drake featuring T.I. & Swizz Beatz) |
25 | 4 | 1 | — | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Fall for Your Type" (Jamie Foxx featuring Drake) |
50 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Best Night of My Life | ||
| "I'm on One" (DJ Khaled featuring Drake, Rick Ross & Lil Wayne) |
2011 | 10 | 1 | 1 | — | 67 | — | — | — | — | 78 |
|
We the Best Forever |
| "Headlines" (Drake) |
13 | 1 | 1 | — | 18 | — | — | — | — | 57 |
|
Take Care | |
| "Still Got It" (Tyga featuring Drake) |
89 | 70 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Careless World: Rise of the Last King | ||
| "Take Care" (Drake featuring Rihanna) |
2012 | 7 | 26 | 2 | 9 | 15 | — | 18 | 7 | 50 | 9 | Take Care | |
| "Enough Said" (Aaliyah featuring Drake) |
— | 55 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | N/A | ||
| "Demonstrate" (JoJo) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Fuckin' Problems (Explicit) " (ASAP Rocky featuring Drake, 2 Chainz & Kendrick Lamar) |
8 | 2 | 2 | 78 | 65 | 86 | — | — | 65 | 50 |
|
LONG.LIVE.A$AP | |
| "Started from the Bottom" (Drake) |
2013 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 93 | 36 | — | — | — | — | 25 |
|
Nothing Was the Same |
| "No New Friends" (DJ Khaled featuring Drake, Rick Ross, & Lil Wayne) |
37 | 9 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 106 |
|
Suffering from Success | |
| "Hold On, We're Going Home" (Drake featuring Majid Jordan) |
4 | 1 | — | 8 | 6 | 52 | 18 | 9 | 55 | 4 |
|
Nothing Was the Same | |
| "All Me" (Drake featuring 2 Chainz & Big Sean) |
20 | 6 | 4 | — | 90 | — | — | — | — | 86 |
| ||
| "Trophies" (Young Money featuring Drake) |
2014 | 50 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Young Money: Rise of an Empire | |
| "Actin Crazy" (Action Bronson) |
2015 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Mr. Wonderful | |
| "My Love" (Majid Jordan featuring Drake) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Majid Jordan | ||
| "Summer Sixteen" (Drake) |
2016 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 12 | 97 | 71 | 46 | 63 | 23 |
|
N/A |
| "Come and See Me" (PartyNextDoor featuring Drake) |
55 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
|
P3 | |
| "One Dance" (Drake featuring Wizkid and Kyla) |
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
|
Views | |
| "Glow" (Drake feat. Kanye West) |
2017 | 54 | 30 | — | — | 37 | — | 65 | 9 | — | 55 | More Life | |
| "Nice for What" (Drake) |
2018 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
|
Scorpion |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
Awards and nominations
Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. 40 has won two awards out of fourteen nominations.[17]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Loud (as engineer/mixer) | Album of the Year | Nominated |
| 2013 | Take Care (as producer and engineer/mixer) | Best Rap Album | Won |
| "The Motto" (as songwriter) | Best Rap Song | Nominated | |
| 2014 | "Started from the Bottom" (as songwriter) | Nominated | |
| "Fuckin' Problems (Explicit)" (as songwriter) | Nominated | ||
| 2015 | "0 to 100 / The Catch Up" (as songwriter) | Nominated | |
| Beyoncé (as producer and engineer/mixer) | Album of the Year | Nominated | |
| 2017 | Views (as producer and engineer/mixer) | Nominated | |
| "Work" (as engineer/mixer) | Record of the Year | Nominated | |
| "Come and See Me" (as songwriter) | Best R&B Song | Nominated | |
| 2019 | Scorpion (as engineer/mixer/songwriter) | Album of the Year | Nominated |
| "God's Plan" (as engineer/mixer/songwriter) | Record of the Year | Nominated | |
| Song of the Year | Nominated | ||
| Best Rap Song | Won |
References
- Noah "40" Shebib: The rap on MS "National MS Society". Accessed on August 14, 2013.
- August 10, CBC Radio ·. "OVO producer Noah '40' Shebib and his sister Suzanna empower youth through hip hop - CBC Radio". Cbc.ca. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
- "Noah '40' Shebib: Recording Drake's 'Headlines'". Soundonsound.com. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
- "Interview: Noah "40" Shebib Talks Drake, "Take Care," and The History of Toronto Hip-Hop". Complex.com. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
- Scott, Cece M. "Tedde Morre strongly rooted In Canadian theatre". Active Life. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
- Noah's acting career "IMDB". Accessed on April 7, 2010.
- The Acting Career of Drake's Producer Noah "40" Shebib "Complex". Accessed on August 14, 2013
- Tinker, Ben (2012-04-17). "The beat goes on for music producer diagnosed with multiple sclerosis". Thechart.blogs.cnn.com. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
- Noah '40' Shebib: Recording Drake's 'Headlines' "Sound On Sound". Accessed on August 14, 2013.
- Noah "40" Shebib interview on Take Care by Drake. "GQ". Accessed on August 14, 2013.
- Noah Shebib Credits. "AllMusic". August 14, 2013.
- Drake - Take Care Album Credits "Hip Hop n More". Accessed on August 14, 2013.
- OVO Blog "October's Very Own". Accessed on August 14, 2013.
- TBTENTGROUP. "Noah "40" Shebib talks "Started from the Bottom" and Drake's new album with Hollywood Reporter". Hip-hopvibe.com. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
- The Drake Dream Team. "The Hollywood Reporter". Accessed on August 14, 2013.
- Drake's New Album. "The Huffington Post". Accessed on August 14, 2013.
- "Noah "40" Shebib | The Recording Academy". Grammy.com. Retrieved 2017-05-24.
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