Drizzy Drake News

Drake’s long-awaited debut, “Thank Me Later,” was recently pushed from a fall release to early 2010. But one of the album’s producers, Harlem-based Omen, says the Toronto MC is ready to release first single, “Shut It Down” featuring The-Dream, in the coming weeks.

“We’re filming a video for it soon helmed by Hype Williams. The track will be serviced just a few weeks after,” Omen tells Billboard.

The song came about when Omen teamed up with Drake’s longtime musical collaborator, 40, and together they came up with the production. “I was working on some drum patterns and 40 had the melody going. 40 is very skilled and has a crazy ear for obscure sounds and chords,” says Omen. “It took us the whole night to come up with the track, but we finished it and played it for Drake the next day, who already had the song’s concept.”

The idea for the track, which Omen describes as a “Prince-like, powerful song,” is about “empowering females. Drake said he had a song idea called ‘Shut It Down’ aimed at club-going females. When they go out and they get dressed up and put their makeup on and get their hair done, they have the capacity to shut the club down,” Omen recalls.

The-Dream eventually got on the track; as of now, he has a verse and appears on the last two choruses and on the bridge.

But Omen’s working relationship with Drake started years before this track came into fruition. Omen, an up-and-coming producer then, met 40 in Toronto back in 2003 while working on Canadian artist Jellystone’s album. A few years later, during another visit to Canada, Omen was introduced to a new artist 40 was working with named Drake. “He told me he needed my insight on Drake’s direction,” says Omen. “I heard Drake, and immediately thought, ‘this kid is crazy!’”