Ever since Drake blew the border gates wide open over six years ago, there’s been one topic up for debate: who’s got next? Let’s not minimize the accomplishments of a solid stream of extremely talented rappers who have followed in the 6 God’s wake, but let’s be real—no one rapper has crossed over with anything even close to the same cultural impact since. These days the conversation seems to revolve around OVO Sound affiliates like Jimmy Prime, or Toronto upstarts like Jazz Cartier and Sean Leon. Would anyone have predicted that our next big Post-Drake export could be Pre-Drake in origin?
Last week, Roc Nationannounced the signing of Palestinian-Canadian rapper and producer Belly. His first release for the label will drop sometime next year. Based on publishing credentials alone, this should come as no surprise. The Ottawa native has songwriting credits on over a dozen of The Weeknd's tracks, including four on Beauty Behind The Madness. But for anyone even peripherally familiar with his career, the news may be a bit surprising. At 31 years old, it’s safe to say that Belly took the long road.
It’s been over a decade since Ahmad “Belly” Balshe first broke into the Canadian music scene, launching CP Records in 2002 with business partner Tony Sal. CP’s first signee was Lebanese-Canadian artist Massari, a golden-voiced R&B singer with a razor-sharp chin strap and a propensity for Arabic melodies. Balshe was instrumental to Massari’s come-up, co-writing and co-producing his self-titled debut, which gave way to four singles, one of which (“Rush The Floor”) included Belly as a featured artist. The commercial success of Massari set the stage for Belly’s debut, The Revolution, a double-album that went on to win a Juno for Rap Recording Of The Year in 2007. For all intents and purposes, especially in a pre-Drake world, Belly had made it. He was Canada famous.
From here, Balshe’s focus seemed to shift toward songwriting, producing, and developing artists. This hiatus ultimately led him to new creative relationship and a valuable connector in Abel Tesfaye. In an interview with Billboard, Belly reveals that his relationship with the Weeknd came about organically. "He came by my house through a mutual friend and we've been homies ever since,” he explains. When it comes to working with the XO camp, it’s a matter of mutual respect: “Everybody really is talented and one of the greatest at what they do. It's not just a bunch of guys that are just there standing around—everybody's bringing something to the table. It's beautiful to watch.”
After a five year drought, Belly is finally ready to revive his solo career, this time with another heavyweight in his corner. After releasing his Up For Days mixtape in May—which features Abel, Travi$ Scott, French Montana, and Juelz Santana—the pieces were in place for a second coming. “I put together a project that I felt like was representative of me as an artist….and I think I just got the right ears with it to the point where Jay Z was interested,” he tells Billboard. “[He] heard it and invited me over...we had a conversation and that was that, you know? A man's handshake, that's all it takes sometimes.”
Over a decade after his first run, Ahmad “Belly” Balshe is one of Canada’s hottest up-and-comers, and for a second time. Regardless of whether or not you think he’ll break in the States, he has a pretty crazy story. Everyone loves an unlikely hero, and we should have seen this one coming a mile away.
When Up For Days premiered back in May, Belly summed up his mythology perfectly in conversation with The Fader: “This is the introduction for me...it's not a new chapter in my story, it's a completely new book.”
