16-Year-Old Girl Produced 'Magna Carta' Track "Crown"
So, when you're Jay-Z and you already have megawatt producers Timbaland and Swizz Beatz on board for your upcoming album, what's your next move? Enlist a 16-year-old high school girl to produce a track, of course!
But don't assume Jay was pulling a publicity stunt on this one. Ebony "WondaGurl" Oshunrinde had been making beats since she was nine when she caught the eye of superstar producer and Drake crew member, Boi-1da. The Canadian producer helped Oshunrinde hone her skills and eventually win the 2012 Battle of the Beatmakers competition.
After the win, she worked on tracks for SonReal & Rich Kidd, Ryan Leslie. But it was her work on the Travi$ Scott track "Uptown" that eventually peaked Jay-Z's interest and he brought her on to help produce Magna Carta Holy Grail track "Crown."
Speaking to Huffington Post Canada, Oshunrinde explained what happened:
"I made a beat and sent it to Travi$ Scott and he said he was gonna do some stuff with it. A few days later he texted me and said he was about to change my life but he wouldn't tell me what he was talking about. Then he called me and told me I was officially on Jay-Z's album."
And after its limited release on July 4th, Oshunrinde soon found out that Scott was completely right.
"It was crazy," she said.
"Just people calling me, texting me and tweeting me all the time. My phone was just blowing up."
But how exactly does a high school student stay grounded after working with HOVA and becoming a household name? For WondaGurl, it's her parents—who are determined that their little girl will finish high school before becoming a fulltime producer.
"I have to focus on school because if I don't my mom takes my computer away," she said.
But no worries, WondaGurl; we have a feeling the world will wait—with bated breath—for you to walk across that stage.
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