I just watched this episode, the show is pretty poorly written and acted, but still interesting enough to get through. And I remember hearing about a program that does this a couple years ago. It didn't go into any one artist or producer specifically, it just vaguely described what it does and how it was responsible for so many pop songs sounding so similar. It made it sound like it's used pretty widely in the industry. If anyone in hip-hop is using it, Drake is definitely a top candidate, can't blame him for using the resources at hand though he'd be a fool not to use it for the singles at least.
This isn't the article I read, but it gets into an algorithm being used to mine data from hit songs over the last 50 years (same as the show) and predict if a song will be a hit, and the technology they describe can also be used to fine tune your song to what the algorithm says should make it a hit.
Pop Hit Prediction Algorithm Mines 50 Years of Chart-Toppers for Data
"Once the algorithm has churned out these weights it’s simply a case of mining your proposed song for these exact same features (the “f”s in the equation) and working out whether they correspond to the trends of the time. This gives you a hit-prediction score."
So if your song doesn't match the trends of the time, you can go back in a fix it.
EDIT:
Another article discussing it briefly, still not the one I read but it talks about the same concept.
The Scandinavian Secret Behind All Your Favorite Songs
"The software of hit songs now. We’ll look at the algorithms, computer generated beats and producers making it happen for Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, and more.
We call pop singers “artists” and think of them conjuring hit songs from the struggles and joys of their lives. But the fact is these days that most top pop hits in America are driven by a bunch of middle-aged Swedes and Norwegians and more, in a kind of factory of lyrics and beats and algorithms. Scratch the latest top hits of Taylor Swift – Bad Blood, Shake it Off – or The Weekend’s Can’t Feel My Face or a whole lot more, and you’ll find the factory."
