1995–2004: Early beginnings Boyd attended
Hants East Rural High School in
Milford Station, Nova Scotia. He started his own production label, Half Life Records, and released his first full-length LP titled ''Time's Up, Kid'' in 1995. Boyd released eight studio albums and independently produced, recorded, and released his ninth album,
Trial & Error. He signed a nationwide distribution deal with Toronto-based
URBNET Records in 2003. The album contains collaborations with Canadian artists like
Eternia and
DL Incognito, as well as Canadian rap veteran
Maestro. The album was one of the highest-selling independent rap albums in
Canada in 2004. With the support of Canadian grant foundation
VideoFACT, Boyd released two
music videos for the singles "Just the Way It Is" and "Unexpected". Boyd worked with prominent MCs in Canada including
Choclair and
Maestro Fresh Wes. He collaborated with
Shady Records recording artist
Royce da 5'9" The album reached #46 on
SoundScan's Canadian
R&B/
Hip-Hop albums chart. The singles "The Maritimes", "5th Element", "No Mistakes", and "Find Out", which is the lead single of his 11th studio album, ''Hitch Hikin' Music
, were all Top 20 hits on MuchMusic and MTV Canada that year. The music video for "No Mistakes" won him an MMVA for MuchVibe Best Rap Video. Boy-Cott-In the Industry'' also earned a
Juno Award nomination for
Rap Recording of the Year in 2006. Following
Boy-Cott-In the Industry, Boyd released his eleventh album ''
Hitch Hikin' Music''. Like previous works, the album was self-produced. In "Fall From Paradise", Boyd reflects on the difficulty of staying fresh and on top. In the song "All About U", featuring singer Chad Hatcher, Classified shows the extent of his growth from his early releases. In "Hip Hop Star", he eschews the bling-bling culture of popular hip-hop to remind people that life is not about trying to impress others. The rest of the album includes guest appearances by Jay Bizzy, Mic Boyd, Jordan Croucher, Preacher K, White Mic and more. Four singles have been released from the album: "Find Out" (which won the 2007
East Coast Music Award for Best Rap/Hip-Hop Single), "Feelin' Fine Remix", "All About U", and "Hard to Be Hip Hop". ''Hitch Hikin' Music'' also received a
Juno Award nomination for Rap Recording of the Year in 2007.
2008–2017: Mainstream breakthrough and national success In 2008, Boyd signed his first major label deal with
Sony Music, and released his twelfth studio album,
Self Explanatory, in 2009. It debuted on the
Canadian Albums Chart at #25, making it Boyd's first album on that chart. The hit single "Anybody Listening" brought Boyd to mainstream success as it peaked at #52 on the
Canadian Hot 100. The accompanying music video also received heavy rotation on
MuchMusic. At the
2009 MuchMusic Video Awards on May 21, 2009, Boyd won the
MuchVibe "Best Hip-Hop Video of the Year" award for "Anybody Listening" directed by Harv Glazer and produced by Robert Wilson of TwoThreeFiveFilms. He received three Juno Award nominations in 2010, for Rap Recording of the Year,
Single of the Year, and
Video of the Year respectively. Boyd would enjoy more mainstream success with another hit single, "Oh...Canada". Which peaked at #14 on the Canadian Hot 100 and was certified platinum in digital downloads by
Music Canada. In early 2011, "Oh...Canada" received a Juno nomination for "Single of the Year". On March 22, 2011, Boyd released his thirteenth album and second major studio album,
Handshakes and Middle Fingers. The album debuted at #7 on the Canadian Albums Chart. The first single from the album, "That Ain't Classy", reached #45 on the Canadian Hot 100. "That Ain't Classy" also featured in the EA Sports football game
Madden 12. Another song featured on the album, "Run With Me", was included in the soundtrack for
NHL 13, another EA Sports title. In 2012, Boyd signed with Universal Music. In 2013, Boyd reached the top of his music career with the release of his fourteenth album, eponymously titled
Classified, which debuted at #1 on the Canadian Albums Chart, earning him his first chart-topping album that would eventually be certified Platinum by Music Canada. The first single from the album, "Inner Ninja", reached #5 on the Canadian Hot 100, earning Boyd his first top-ten hit and highest-charting song. The song has been certified 5× Platinum in digital downloads by Music Canada. In March 2013, it was announced that Boyd signed a deal with
Atlantic Records. Boyd won an award at the 2013 Juno Awards for "Rap Recording of the Year" for his song "Inner Ninja". A remix of the song featuring guest vocals from
Olly Murs was released on November 10, 2013. In March 2014, Boyd co-hosted the
2014 Juno Awards along with
Serena Ryder and
Johnny Reid, and released a new single "Higher" featuring
B.o.B. On January 15, 2016, Boyd released his fifteenth album
Greatful. Three singles were released: "Filthy" which features DJ Premier, "No Pressure" which features Snoop Dogg (and which reached #65 on the Canadian Hot 100) and "Noah's Arch" which features Saukrates. The album debuted at #6 on the Canadian Albums Chart. Boyd announced he would be touring across Canada from February to March in support of the album. Boyd co-wrote and produced Ria Mae's hit song "Thoughts On Fire" and raps on the "Thoughts on Fire (feat. Classified)" version which was on heavy rotation in early 2017 on the
CBC Radio 2 network.
2018–present: Longevity and latest projects On February 9, 2018, Boyd filmed a music video for "Powerless" in Nova Scotia, featuring native dancers and musicians and bringing to light the issues surrounding missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. On May 8, 2018, Boyd released another new single called "Changes" featuring
Anjulie. On May 25, 2018, Boyd released another single "She Ain't Gotta Do Much". Later that month, Boyd announced his new EP
Tomorrow Could Be.... The EP was released on June 29, 2018. On September 14, 2018, Boyd announced that his new album
Tomorrow Could Be the Day Things Change would be released on October 12. The first single from the album, "Cold Love", featuring
Tory Lanez, was released the same day. On September 20, 2020, Boyd released an eight-song EP called
Time. "Good News", which features Breagh Isabel, was one of the singles off the EP. It was certified Gold in Canada and appeared on John Krasinski's
Some Good News. On June 29, 2022, Boyd released
Retrospected (Acoustic) which is an album consisting of acoustic versions of all his hit singles such as "Day Doesn't Die", "Accept It", "Inner Ninja", "Good News" and "All About You (Feat. Breagh Isabel and Brett Matthews)". Boyd explores how he went from being a small-town teen to a big name in the music industry in the book ''Classified: Off the Beat 'N Path'', which was released on April 30 2021. In the memoir, Boyd touches on overcoming the challenges of being a young, aspiring music artist on the East Coast, the importance of home and staying humble during success. "Life's a journey, not a destination," Boyd told Jeff Douglas, the host of CBC Radio's
Mainstreet, in an interview at his home in Enfield, N.S., adding "My only scale of success is that I can come out to my studio every day and make a beat." In 2024, Boyd released his most recent album ''Luke's View''. ==Personal life==