Baka Not Nice

Travis Savoury, a native of Toronto connected to Drake, records as the rapper Baka Not Nice, often shortened to Baka. His style delivers confrontational bars through deliberately fragmented rhythms and melodic, singsong phrasing. Entry into the spotlight arrived in 2017 via the charting release “Live Up to My Name,” which later surfaced on his initial EP, 4Milli.

Before stepping out alone, Savoury handled security duties for Drake and contributed to several of the latter’s projects, appearing on Nothing Was the Same with “From Time,” Views via “Hype,” and More Life tracks “Free Smoke” and “Gyalchester.” June 2017 brought public word of his signing to Drake’s Warner-distributed OVO Sound label, followed immediately by the boastful single “Live Up to My Name.” Built on chiming, low-profile production, the song referenced prior experiences with the lines “I went to jail the day they released Men in Black/When I came out, Timberlake was bringing sexy back” and peaked at number 77 on the Canadian pop chart.

Further 2018 singles included “No Beam” and the energetic “Junior High,” with the latter also included on 4Milli. The following year yielded the three-track no long talk., featuring the Giggs collaboration “My Town” and the additional cut “Up.” After stepping away from recording, Baka resurfaced in 2022 with “Body & a Face.”