Grammy nominees Boi-1da, Kai: the Canadians behind the hits you know well

Drake mightbe on tour in Europe during the Grammysand it's uncertain whetherJustin Bieber will attend Sunday's ceremonybut other Canadian nominees aregetting ready for the big night.

Among them, Toronto hip hop producer Boi-1da,who's worked with some of music's biggest acts, including Drake, Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, Jay Z and Nicki Minaj.

"I just love when people actually enjoy my music, so this is like a celebration of your music on the highest level," he told CBC News in Los Angeles.

Boi-1da, whose real name is Matthew Jehu Samuels, is nominated for major hardware,including record of the year for Rihanna'strackWork and album of the year for Drake's Views.

He says the Grammys can be "unpredictable," but the recognition pays off.

"More people are seeing you, reading about you, on a huge scale," he said.

"I've actually met a lot of people through just being recognized through Grammy nominations and award-winning songs, so as a brand too, whatever you're trying to do, it helps you out."

Attention and exposure

Some argue that the Grammysare no longer as relevant as they used to be, but musicians and executives say the award opens doors that are otherwise tightly shut, especially for newcomers to the business.

"There's a lot of great music going around and if you are able to be distinguished by your peers and the public, you getattention," said Eric Baptiste, headofSOCAN, Canada's copyright collective for music.

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"Andwhen you get attention, you getexposure. It really makes a difference between the minor leagues and the big leagues."

Canadian singer-songwriterAlessiaDeGasperisBrigante, known by thestage name Kai, is making her way into the big leagues with Flume'sNever Be Like You, nominated for best dance recording.

"There's an element of credibility that is added to it when you have that title," she said about the nomination."It's so surreal that it doesn't fully register in the moment. I think it's going to register when I'm sitting there."

Kai,whowrote the lyrics and did vocals for the popular EDM track, would be the second Canadian in a row to win that category if she takes the award on Sunday. Bieber's Where Are U Nowwon last year, alongside electronic duo Diplo and Skrillex.

Warning: explicit language in song

A 'second home run' tougher than first

The exposure that comes with Grammy nominationshas two sides, according to songwriter-producerStephan Moccio, who was nominated last year for his work on The Weeknd'sBeauty Behind The Madness.

"You kind of go through the post-side of it where everyone wants a piece of you more than ever and you want to try and get your second home run," said Moccio, who has also worked with Cline Dion, Miley Cyrus, John Legend and Ne-Yo.

"That's more difficult than your first a lot of the time, because you literally have to remember you were doing everything for the right reasons to get to where you got to."

Paying it forward

Boi-1da keeps those reasons in mind as he paves the way for a new generation oftalent bringing fresh sounds.

He says he didn't have a lot of mentorship growing up as a young producer in Toronto. But he wants to change that for up-and-coming Canadianstrying to break into the industry.

I feel like it's an obligation for me to keep on pushing the envelope for my country- Boi-1da, Canadian hip hop producer

"I feel like it's an obligation for me to keep on pushing the envelope for my country, to build my country and to build people coming up from the same struggles, the same area that I'm from," he said.

"I try to mentor people and bond with a lot of the young guys and bring them up to the same level."

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