The five-times-platinum “Nice for What” was an inflection point. Rather than dropping off a premade digital beat pack, his biggest hit to date was made at Drake’s house, over a game of “NBA 2K18,” when the rapper ordered up a beat with a female vocal sample and Murda made it on the spot. (Drake located the song’s additional Big Freedia sample himself on YouTube, Murda said; the producer BlaqNmilD later added the New Orleans bounce section.)

The process was a throwback to Murda’s pre-fame days living in an Atlanta studio with Migos, creating five to 10 songs a day. But while Murda first made a name for himself on mixtapes like “No Label 2,” he existed on rap’s periphery until returning to Canada in 2014 and meeting Cory Litwin, a Toronto night life presence who became his manager.

Litwin, a genial operator with a Star of David chain, was then working as a party and concert promoter while selling gold and diamond grills. He connected with Murda through the security guard at their mutual jeweler, and was baffled when Murda insisted on playing him beats. “He was very persistent,” said Litwin, who was not exactly in the music business. “Murda hit me up like 15 times in five days.”

But because Litwin, 32, ran in the same circles as local artists like Drake and the Weeknd, “I thought I could use him to get me to everyone in Toronto,” Murda said.

“And I did,” Litwin added.

Together, the pair practiced the timeless art of faking it like they’d already made it. “I would bring him out to the clubs and make sure he was treated like a superstar,” Litwin said. “Everyone would be like, who the hell is this white kid?” In Los Angeles, if Litwin spotted a celebrity, he would make a mortified Murda pose for a photo to post on social media.