Drake has announced the signing of popular dancehall artist Popcaan to his OVO Sound record label. The Toronto rap superstar shared the news on stage during a cameo at the Unruly Fest in Jamaica where Popcaan was performing on Saturday (Dec. 22).
“I just want to let everybody know, finally, officially, 2019, Popcaan is signed to OVO,” Drake told the crowd.
Ever since his breakthrough — a feature on his now incarcerated mentor Vybz Kartel’s 2010 hit “Clarks” — Popcaan has become the torchbearer for dancehall. The Portmore, Jamaica, native born Andrae Sutherland has soared from the island to countries worldwide, with 413 million on-demand U.S. streams (audio and video combined) to date, according to Nielsen Music.
His 2018 album, Forever, debuted at No. 2 on Reggae Albums in August, tying his career best on the chart; Where We Come From also hit No. 2 in 2014. Both albums were released through Mixpak Records.
In addition to guest spots on tracks by Kanye West and Snoop Dogg, Popcaan was also featured on Drake’s 2016 hit “Controlla.” He discussed his relationship with Drake and OVO during an interview on 96.1WEFM in 2015.
“OVO is straight up family because Drake was the one that said OVO Unruly,” Popcaan said. “Drake has me as Drizzy Drake in Jamaica. So when I view Drake as a young youth that is doing well in the game it’s the same way I view myself also. A lot of my friends from Canada was around Drake was always telling Drake about my music.”
OVO Sound is also the home to such artists as PARTYNEXTDOOR, Majid Jordan, Plaza and Baka Not Nice, among others.
