Who Is Baka Not Nice? Drake's OVO Signee Was Convicted of Assault and Accused of Human Trafficking

The rapper pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six months in jail.

By Ashley Turner

The rapper Travis Savoury, who is also known as "Baka" and "Not Nice," is a Canadian rapper and producer who is a longtime member of Drake's squad. In 2015, he pleaded guilty to assaulting a 22-year-old Toronto woman and not complying with the conditions of his recognizance for unrelated firearms charges in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, which were withdrawn earlier that year.

A Finch Ave. court sentenced Savoury, 37, to six months in jail on April 7, 2015, but he went free because he had already spent 10 months in custody after being arrested in June 2014. Human trafficking and procuring for prostitution charges were dropped.

According to Drake's lawyer, Domenic Basile, Savoury worked for Drake as security at Toronto events at the time. Drake's Nothing Was the Same album also features background vocals from Savoury. The rapper expressed his support for Savoury on Instagram after he walked free, per Toronto Sun.

"Something in the air today ... a lot of good things happening at once. But this one means the MOST!!! Been waiting for 11 months!! Baka finally home!!!!!" said the Instagram post.

Crown attorney Katherine Rogozinski told Justice Antonio DiZio that the alleged victim of human trafficking and prostitution had spoken to police and indicated that she wouldn't be willing to testify in the case. "She said she hasn't had contact with the accused and wasn't pressured to not testify," Rogozinski said via Toronto Sun.

She had moved since then and had not updated the police about her new address. Because the police were unable to locate her, she wasn't subpoenaed to testify.

After discovering the victim passed out drunk at home while French fries were "burning" in the oven, Savoury and the victim got into an argument, Rogozinski said. The victim reprimanded Savoury, and he pushed her to the ground in response. Reading from an agreed statement of facts, Rogozinski said that she lay in shock, crying for an hour.

After he apologized, the woman, who worked as an escort, contacted police a few weeks later. After an on-and-off relationship for several months, she and Savoury were over, the court heard. Her identity was banned from publication. Several of his previous convictions (though none since 2007) include armed robbery, assault, the discharge of a firearm during a robbery, and possession for the purpose of trafficking.

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After Savoury's guilty plea, his song "Live Up to My Name" slowly became a hit, gaining over 16,000 Genius page views and half a million SoundCloud streams within a month. Savoury signed an exclusive deal with OVO as his profile grew in 2017. New York City was the site of Savoury's live signing to confirm his partnership with Drake.

During his speech, Drake briefly referenced Savoury's incarceration. "When [he] got out of jail there was a lot of different paths he could've took and he decided to focus on music, "Drake said via Genius.

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