When Drake shocked the world with his Iceman–Habibti–Maid of Honour triple-album release earlier this year (May 15), he didn’t just successfully recalibrate his position in the hip-hop ecosystem — he also delivered an unexpected legal breakthrough for Trinidadian soca giant Denise Belfon. After nearly three decades of her hit song traversing genres, nations and culture, Drake’s “BBW” ensured that Belfon would finally receive her royalties from songs sampling “Work,” a soca staple built around her booming “put your back in it/ just a little more!” refrain.
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“Because of Drake’s team, the producer of ‘Work’ [Pupa Nas-T] was forced to say ‘yes,’” Belfon exclusively tells Billboard. “For 28 years, he had [refused to sign off on my receiving my royalties]. With Drake adding my vocals on ‘BBW,’ [Pupa] agreed that, moving forward, I would receive my appropriate payment.”
“Work,” which Belfon, 57, recorded in one take back in 1998 while riding on post-performance adrenaline, earned a Masters at Work remix in 2000, transforming the soca anthem into a timeless house track that remains a favorite in EDM sets around the world. The wonky world of dance remix credits and the innate kinks of facilitating a transnational hit make it slightly difficult to assess just how many official on-demand U.S. streams the original Pupa Nas-T-helmed mix of “Work” has earned — but the impressive numbers and genre intersections of its derivatives help paint a fuller picture of the soca-house hit’s legacy.
