Montego Bay producer Mxssivh lands credits on Drake albums

Drake’s three-album drop gave Montego Bay producer Mxssivh a major new entry on his résumé, but the bigger story is how a St. James beat-maker keeps carrying Jamaican identity into records that travel far beyond the island. Justin Junagadala, known professionally as Mxssivh, was credited on Ran To Atlanta, tied to the Iceman collaboration with Future and Molly Santana, and on New Bestie, which appears on Maid of Honour.

That placement matters because New Bestie also carries a lyric reference to Vybz Kartel, turning Mxssivh’s credit into more than a production line on a star-packed release. He told the Jamaica Observer that Drake “loves Jamaica through and through,” and said the Canadian rapper’s music and culture have been part of his public creative identity for years. For reggae and dancehall listeners, that is the familiar pattern: Jamaican rhythm, patois, and dub-minded sensibility moving through mainstream rap without always being loudly labeled.

Mxssivh said the path to the Drake project ran through both Canada and Miami. He flew to Canada for the Vybz Kartel show, met a couple of people, then later worked in Miami with people closely tied to OVO. He had been working on the material for years before it suddenly became part of Drake’s surprise three-album release on Friday, May 15, when Iceman, Maid of Honour, and Habibti all arrived at once.

The Drake connection also lands differently because Mxssivh was not starting from zero. He previously produced Cinderella and Waterfall on Russian trap rapper Kizaru’s 2019 album Karmageddon, and also produced Carousel on Kizaru’s EP Say No Mo. Born in West Gate, St James, and educated at Heinz Simonitch and Hillel Academy, he said he has been making music since childhood, plays piano, and mixes and masters his own productions. That combination of local grounding and technical control is exactly what has let Jamaican producers move into international sessions without losing their edge.

Drake’s relationship with Jamaican music has been visible for years. Billboard reported that he signed Popcaan to OVO Sound onstage at Unruly Fest in Jamaica in December 2018, and Popcaan later said the link gave him a lot of exposure and was very good for his culture. Vybz Kartel also backed Drake in a 2025 interview, saying he was “more in tune with Jamaica and the culture.” Mxssivh’s credits fit that same arc, showing how Jamaican producers keep shaping global records, one placement at a time, while the island’s influence stays audible in the biggest releases.