When Kaytranada emerged from Montreal's underground a decade ago, his slinky, syncopated productions felt like a secret passed between crate-diggers and late-night dancers. Now the secret's out: the 31-year-old Haitian-Canadian producer is arena-ready, Grammy-certified, and, by his own account, busier than ever. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, he discussed his long-gestating third album, life on the road with The Weeknd, and an unlikely studio partnership with enigmatic rapper Mach-Hommy.
The Follow-Up to BUBBA Takes Shape
Kaytranada's third studio album—his first since 2019's BUBBA, which won Best Dance/Electronic Album at the Grammys—is expected to arrive later this year, though he remains characteristically coy about specifics. What he did share suggests a deliberate expansion of his network. "I'm working with a lot of new people, but also some old friends," he told Rolling Stone. "It's gonna be a good balance of old and new."
That tension between familiarity and risk has defined his career. 99.9% (2016) introduced his signature sound: loose, soulful house and hip-hop hybrids built from dusty samples and live instrumentation. BUBBA tightened that formula into a sleeker, more vocal-forward statement. For album three, fans have speculated based on scattered social media snippets and festival previews that he may be pushing further into R&B and even revisiting Haitian musical influences from his upbringing in Saint-Hubert. Kaytranada has neither confirmed nor denied these theories, but the wait has only sharpened anticipation.
From Club Booths to Stadium Stages
If the new album represents Kaytranada's future, his present has been dominated by massive crowds. He joined The Weeknd's After Hours Til Dawn tour as an opener, playing arenas and stadiums across North America and Europe—a dramatic leap from the festival circuits and intimate club sets where he built his reputation.
The scale shift has been disorienting in productive ways. He described playing to 60,000 people at SoFi Stadium as a vertigo-inducing contrast to his usual environment, where the audience's proximity shapes every tempo adjustment. With The Weeknd, he's had to learn how to project his kinetic, body-moving sound into cavernous spaces without losing its warmth. "The Weeknd is a great dude, and the whole crew is so talented," he said. "We're all just trying to make each other better."
The tour also marks a full-circle moment for two Canadian artists who rose from parallel Toronto and Montreal scenes to global stardom through distinctly different paths—The Weeknd via pop's dark center, Kaytranada through dance music's outer rings.
Inside the Mach-Hommy Sessions
Perhaps the most unexpected thread in Kaytranada's current run is his studio work with Mach-Hommy, the Haitian-American rapper whose cryptic persona, mask-concealed identity, and thousand-dollar album pricing have made him one of hip-hop's most deliberately inaccessible stars. That Kaytranada—known for glossy, immediately pleasurable production—would link with an artist who traffics in dense, reference-laden street rap and Griselda-affiliated austerity is a collision worth examining.
According to Kaytranada, the connection works because of shared roots and stubborn independence rather than sonic similarity. "Mach-Hommy is one of the most talented rappers out there, and I'm honored to be working with him," he said. "He's got a unique style that's not being replicated by anyone else right now."
The sessions remain under wraps, with no confirmed release date for Mach-Hommy's next project. But the pairing suggests Kaytranada is resisting the obvious career moves—more pop features, safer collaborations—in favor of creative challenges that keep him uncomfortable.
No Mold, No Genre
That restlessness appears central to his philosophy as he enters this next phase. "I'm not trying to fit into any particular mold or genre," he told Rolling Stone. "I'm just trying to make music that feels authentic and honest. If people connect with it, that's amazing. If not, I'm still gonna keep making music that I love."
With an arena tour winding down, a third album looming, and production credits for one of rap's most elusive voices in progress, Kaytranada seems less interested in consolidating his success than in stretching it in unpredictable directions.
