Trinidadian Soca Icon Denise Belfon Reveals How Drake Helped Her Receive Royalties From ‘Work’ for the First Time in 30 Years
Categoria: Musica
Belfon also opens up about finally releasing her very first album, several decades into her career.
Por Billboard | 04/08/2026
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. Related 2026 Caribbean Music Awards Nominees: Lady Lava, Machel Montano, Ayetian & More Caribbean Music Awards Makes Historic Move to Trinidad & Tobago for 2026 Ceremony — Here’s When They’re Happening Sister Nancy Talks New Documentary & Why Jay-Z’s 2017 ‘Bam Bam’ Sample Is Her Favorite: ‘He Did the Right Thing, Everybody Else Was Cheap’ “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. Years after David Guetta cemented “Work” as an EDM festival mainstay with his 2010 Tomorrowland mainstage set, Los Angeles-born DJ RL Grime looked to Belfon’s hit for his 2014 rework of Nadus’ “Nxwxrk,” which infused the soca track with notes of Jersey club and heavy bass. By 2019, Newark-bred DJ Flex and Jamaican production team Equiknoxx teamed up to reimagine “Work” as “Put Your Back In It,” which emphasizes the musical connection between soca and Afrobeats. That remix landed just a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the world, which primed the foundation for the remix’s viral TikTok dance challenge in early-mid 2020. Additional buzzy DJ remixes landed by way of Scottish DJ Kevin McKay (2022) and English DJ James Hype (2026). “I have felt like I was not appreciated,” she reflects. “Not that I did things for validation, but for the type of work that I’ve put in… I felt like I was always being bypassed. I laid the bricks for the building to go up, yet they don’t remember who put it down.” Before Drake’s “BBW,” several songs have sampled Belfon’