Belly

Born on the 7th of April, in the year 1984, as Ahmad Balshe, in Palestine, Belly is a producer, songwriter and rapper. He was raised in Ottawa, since his family decided to leave Palestine’s violence behind and move to Canada. The name “Belly” is derived from his stage name “Rebellyus”.

His debut single “Pressure”, featuring American singer-songwriter Ginuwine, won the “MuchVibe Best Rap Video” at the 2007 MuchMusic Video Awards and peaked at number 10 on the Canadian Hot 100 list. Balshe would also go on to win the same award in 2008 for his song “Ridin”, featuring American artist Mario Winans.

He has co-written numerous hits, most famously, for fellow Canadian “The Weeknd”, which include six credits on the 2015 album, “Beauty Behind the Madness”, including the smash hit single “The Hills”. In July 2016, Belly and The Weeknd were co-awarded “The Songwriter of the Year” at the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada Awards. Balshe has also co-written songs such as “6 Inch”, for Beyonce’s 2016 album, Lemonade.

Following his successful collaboration with The Weeknd, Balshe signed up with Jay-Z’s label, Roc Nation and released his first album/mixtape with them, called “Another Day in Paradise” in May, 2016.