User:Simonealicia/sandbox



David "Gordo" Strickland, is an Indigenous Canadian audio engineer, producer and activist from Toronto, Ontario. David has been quietly lurking behind the scenes as an engineer, a mixer and a producer on Hip-Hop and R&B records for the past two decades. His work has graced seminal tracks by the likes of Pete Rock, Erick Sermon, EPMD, Keith Murray, Redman and Method Man. Most crucially, he’s also been involved in records by almost every one of the ground-breaking Toronto hip-hop acts, including k-os, Ghetto Concept, Jelleestone, Kardinal Offishall, Saukrates, Jully Black, Divine Brown, Glenn Lewis and Choclair. Strickland, who was mentored alongside Noah “40” Shebib by Toronto production legend, Noel “Gadget” Campbell, was in on the ground floor for the OVO explosion, turning in Grammy-winning work behind the boards on Drake’s albums Thank Me Later, as well as its monster-hit successors, Take Care and Nothing Was the Same. David is currently signed to eOne and is scheduled to release his first ever produced album in June 2020

Early life
David Strickland was born and raised in Scarborough, Ontario. His family is from Newfoundland, Labrador and Quebec carrying strong Mi’kmaq & French roots. David Strickland was born and raised in Scarborough’s infamous Gilder Housing Project.

Music Career
David Strickland started his music career in the early 1980’s by B-Boying and DJing. He began learning about music production after borrowing an EMU SP120 machine and sampler for a weekend, making his transformation into a young record producer. In 1992, Strickland enrolled in the Radio Broadcasting program at Humber College,and continued his education at Trebas Institute for Audio Engineering, graduating with honors. Shortly after, he met his mentor, Mixing and Mastering Engineer, Noel “Gadget” Campbell. He worked with Gadget, along with Sam Weller at Audio Flex Studios, SLAM, and Studio 306 in Toronto. Strickland enlisted in a training camp for Audio Professionals and quickly progressed to commanding the Technical Maintenance Department at the school, as well as acquiring teaching positions for Engineering and Production. By the late 1990’s, Strickland was working with artists such as KOS, Ghetto Concept, Kardinal Offishall, Saukrates, and Choclair. In 2005, he began collaborating with artists in the United States such as EPMD, Erick Sermon, Redman, Wu Tang Klan, and Keith Murray. He was enlisted by Noah “40” Shebib to work on Drake’s debut album “Thank Me Later”. He worked with Drake again on his album “Take Care”, released in 2012. He has also worked with artists such as Jamie Foxx, Sade and Rick Ross.

Visual Art Career
David has combined traditional and cultural teachings to his work and has incorporated these teachings into artistic expression through drawing and painting. He has created hundreds of paintings, which can be found in galleries around the Greater Toronto Area. He is dedicated to raising funds and awareness to social issues in the aboriginal communities and does so by donating many pieces of art to communities across Canada. His work was recently showcased at the McMichael Art Gallery as part of the Northside of Hip Hop Archive Everything Remains Raw exhibition.

Personal life
David Strickland stays involved with the Anishnawbe Health Centre where he participates in traditional First Nations ceremonies such as smudging, talking circles and a weekly sweat lodge. He currently lives in Toronto and was featured in the VICE documentary, “First Out Here, Indigenous Hip Hop”. He also builds recording studios for businesses and is involved in other community projects.

Discography
Singles Produced

American Music Awards
The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired.


 * 2010
 * Thank Me Later (as engineer/mixer)
 * Favourite Rap/Hip Hop album
 * Nominated
 * 2012
 * Take Care (as engineer/mixer)
 * Favourite Hip Hop Album
 * Nominated
 * 2014
 * Nothing Was The Same (as engineer/mixer)
 * Favourite Hip Hop Album
 * Nominated
 * Nothing Was The Same (as engineer/mixer)
 * Favourite Hip Hop Album
 * Nominated

BET Hip Hop Awards
The BET Hip Hop Awards are an annual awards show, airing on BET, showcasing hip hop performers, producers and music video directors.


 * 2010
 * Thank Me Later (as engineer/mixer)
 * CD of the Year
 * Nominated
 * 2012
 * Take Care (as engineer/mixer)
 * CD of the Year
 * Nominated
 * 2014
 * Nothing Was The Same (as engineer/mixer)
 * Album of the Year
 * 2014
 * Nothing Was The Same (as engineer/mixer)
 * Album of the Year

Billboard Music Awards
The Billboard Music Award is an honor given by Billboard, a publication and music popularity chart covering the music business.


 * 2010
 * Thank Me Later (as engineer/mixer)
 * Billboard Top Rap Album
 * Nominated
 * rowspan="2"|2012
 * Take Care (as engineer/mixer)
 * Billboard 200 Album
 * Nominated
 * "Take Care" (as engineer/mixer)
 * Billboard Top Rap Album
 * Nominated
 * rowspan="3"|2014
 * Nothing Was The Same (as engineer/mixer)
 * Billboard 200 Album
 * Nominated
 * "Nothing Was The Same" (as engineer/mixer)
 * Billboard Top Rap Album
 * Nominated
 * "Hold On We're Going Home" (as engineer/mixer)
 * Billboard Top R&amp;B Song
 * Nominated
 * Billboard Top Rap Album
 * Nominated
 * "Hold On We're Going Home" (as engineer/mixer)
 * Billboard Top R&amp;B Song
 * Nominated
 * Nominated

Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.


 * 2010
 * Best I Ever Had (as engineer/mixer)
 * Best Rap Song
 * Nominated
 * 2011
 * Thank Me Later (as engineer/mixer)
 * Best Rap Album
 * Nominated
 * 2013
 * Take Care (as engineer/mixer)
 * Best Rap Album
 * rowspan="2"|2014
 * Nothing Was The Same (as engineer/mixer)
 * Best Rap Album
 * Nominated
 * "Started From The Bottom" (as engineer/mixer)
 * Best Rap Song
 * Nominated
 * Best Rap Album
 * Nominated
 * "Started From The Bottom" (as engineer/mixer)
 * Best Rap Song
 * Nominated
 * Nominated

iHeart Radio Music Awards
The iHeartRadio Music Awards is a music awards show that celebrates music heard throughout the year across iHeartMedia radio stations nationwide and on iHeartRadio, iHeartMedia's digital music platform.


 * 2014
 * Hold On, We're Going Home (as engineer/mixer)
 * Song of the Year
 * Nominated
 * 2014
 * Started From The Bottom (as engineer/mixer)
 * Hip Hop/R&amp;B Song of the Year
 * Nominated
 * Hip Hop/R&amp;B Song of the Year
 * Nominated

Juno Awards
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music.


 * 2004
 * Flagrant (as engineer/mixer)
 * Rap Recording of the Year
 * 2010
 * Best I Ever Had (as engineer/mixer)
 * Single of the Year
 * rowspan="2"|2011
 * Thank Me Later (as engineer/mixer)
 * Rap Recording of the Year
 * Nominated
 * "Find Your Love" (as engineer/mixer)
 * Single of the Year
 * Nominated
 * rowspan="2"|2012
 * Take Care (as engineer/mixer)
 * Album of the Year
 * Nominated
 * "Take Care" (as engineer/mixer)
 * Rap Recording of the Year
 * rowspan="2"|2014
 * Nothing Was The Same (as engineer/mixer)
 * Album of the Year
 * Nominated
 * "Nothing Was The Same" (as engineer/mixer)
 * Rap Recording of the Year
 * 2015
 * Hold On We're Going Home (as engineer/mixer)
 * Single of the Year
 * Nominated
 * rowspan="2"|2014
 * Nothing Was The Same (as engineer/mixer)
 * Album of the Year
 * Nominated
 * "Nothing Was The Same" (as engineer/mixer)
 * Rap Recording of the Year
 * 2015
 * Hold On We're Going Home (as engineer/mixer)
 * Single of the Year
 * Nominated
 * Hold On We're Going Home (as engineer/mixer)
 * Single of the Year
 * Nominated

Soul Train Music Awards
The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual award show which previously aired in national television syndication, and honors the best in Black music and entertainment.


 * 2009
 * Best I Ever Had (as engineer/mixer)
 * Record of the Year
 * Nominated
 * rowspan="2"|2010
 * Find Your Love (as engineer/mixer)
 * Record of the Year
 * Nominated
 * "Find Your Love" (as engineer/mixer)
 * Best Hip Hop Song
 * Nominated
 * 2013
 * Started From The Bottom (as engineer/mixer)
 * Best Hip Hop Song
 * Nominated
 * rowspan="3"|2014
 * Hold On We're Going Home (as engineer/mixer)
 * Best Hip Hop Song
 * Nominated
 * "Hold On We're Going Home" (as engineer/mixer)
 * Song of the Year
 * Nominated
 * "Nothing Was The Same" (as engineer/mixer)
 * Album of the Year
 * Nominated
 * "Hold On We're Going Home" (as engineer/mixer)
 * Song of the Year
 * Nominated
 * "Nothing Was The Same" (as engineer/mixer)
 * Album of the Year
 * Nominated
 * Nominated