The 5 best songs PartyNextDoor has written for other artists

PartyNextDoor was the first signee to Drake's OVO label back in 2013, and he remains the most well-rounded act on its roster. A successful songwriter, producer and an R&B star in his own right, the artist born Jahron Brathwaite has spent the past decade churning out hits for everyone, from Usher to Post Malone. 

As PartyNextDoor, Brathwaite's music incorporates personal experiences in relationships while tapping into Caribbean and dancehall influences. But when he works with other musicians, he tries to bring out their best qualities, as his manager Tyler Henry told Billboard in a recent interview: "He doesn't write these generic songs that we try to find a home for. He writes them very purposefully for that artist." 

To mark the release of his latest album, PartyNextDoor 4, CBC Music looks back at the five best songs he's written for other artists. 

5. 'Waves,' Kanye West 

This cut off of Kanye West's 2016 album, The Life of Pablo, has over 20 credited songwriters (some of which stem from the track's three song samples), among them include Chris Brown, Chance the Rapper (who fought for this song to be included on the final album), Metro Boomin and Brathwaite. With so many cooks in the kitchen, "Waves" may not be the greatest showcase for Brathwaite's songwriting skills, but he still undoubtedly contributed to the song's grandeur and melodicism, leading to one of the best tracks on the album, which later went triple platinum. This marked Brathwaite's first collaboration with West; the two reunited on West's 2018 album, Ye, on the tracks, "Wouldn't Leave" and "Ghost Town." 

4. 'Trap Star,' City Girls 

Brathwaite and producer Murda Beatz teamed up with Miami duo City Girls on this track off their 2018 debut album, Girl Code. The bass-bumping anthem lets members JT and Yung Miami shine on their braggadocious verses, but Brathwaite's melodic touch comes through on the infectious chorus: "I'm lookin' for a trap star/ to pull up in that foreign/ that's a NASCAR," JT sings, with a smooth swagger. 

3. 'U With Me?,' Drake 

Brathwaite and Drake have been working together since the Toronto rapper's 2013 album, Nothing Was the Same, where he helped pen the tracks, "Come Thru" and "Own It." While those earlier tracks looked at romances through rose tinted glasses, "U With Me?," off of Drake's next album, Views, finds the rapper more hardened and suspicious of his love interest's intentions. "I made a career off reminiscin'," Drake admits on the moody song. "Time got a funny way of tickin', things are so much different." If you're looking for someone to use songwriting to map the intimate ups and downs of a relationship, Brathwaite is the songwriter for you. 

2. '2AM,' SZA

SZA's "2AM" isn't a direct collaboration with Brathwaite; instead, his original track "Come and See Me" (featuring Drake) provides the template for the R&B star to rework and reinterpret into a hit of her own. Whereas Brathwaite's version explores the hardships of maintaining casual relationships, SZA flips the script and sings from the woman's point of view, painfully admitting: "All this time I've been playin' your side/ I could've done better shit with my life." In a rare feat, both PartyNextDoor and SZA's tracks succeed in their own ways.

1. 'Sex With Me,' Rihanna

While Brathwaite is best known for writing the Rihanna and Drake hit, "Work," this bonus track on Rihanna's 2016 album, Anti, is just as big of an achievement. Co-written by an all-star roster of Canadians including Brathwaite, Frank Dukes, Boi-1da and BadBadNotGood's Chester Hansen, "Sex With Me" is a sensual anthem that amplifies the singer's confidence tenfold, as she asserts in its opening line: "Sex with me, so amazing." Rihanna's voice slinks around the beat with palpable ease, teasing out lines like, "I know, I know, I make it hard to let go," with a wink, giving this track a playfulness that makes it not only a sexy bedroom number, but an all-out banger that you can shout along with your friends at a party.