If you didn’t know it already, Drake dropped his fourth solo studio LP today (April 29) with Views (formerly Views From the 6), and since the details beyond the cover art and a few singles were pretty scarce prior to its release, fans and media alike are scrambling to learn more about the project now that it’s out.

One of the album’s elements under discovery is the skeleton of producers and songwriters used to create it. When it comes to production the Toronto native always seems to throw in a few interesting tidbits. A few of those we found are who he sampled on the project. Rather than calling them into the studio for an exclusive session of their own, Drizzy’s beatsmiths sampled the voices of Mary J. Blige and DMX instead.

On the nostalgic “Weston Road Flows,” 40 splices out a section of Blige’s “Mary’s Joint,” which creates the perfect backdrop for Drake to describe his childhood, particularly his “momma” who he brings up a few times.

Perhaps even more bizarre is his use of DMX’s voice numerous times on “U With Me.” The line “What these b*****s want from a ni**a?” comes from ...And Then There Was X’s 1999 track “What These B*****s Want?” The rest of the song also samples X’s “How’s It Goin Down,” and considering the harsh words DMX had for Drake a few years ago, it’s a little surprising he paid tribute. Apparently N.O.R.E. is at least the reason Drake was able to get the sample cleared.

Views was released Friday to initially mixed reviews. It’s going to take the weekend before more well-established opinions surface. We’ll also probably learn a bit more now that the everyone knows most of the players involved in making the album, and can hopefully talk to them. As for now, stream Views here.

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