WondaGurl Produced a Song for Jay-Z at Age 16
WondaGurl was 9-years-old when she caught the beat bug. After watching a video of Jay-Z and Timbaland working in the studio together, she knew she had to try her hand at producing. “I was just amazed,” she said in an interview with CBC News. “I was like, ‘I wanna do what Timbaland does.’”
Through many diligent hours of studying YouTube tutorials, WonderGurl taught herself the nuts and bolts of production. While such a high level of self-discipline at a young age is rare, she attributes her focus to boredom and a desire to learn. “If you really want to learn, you will sit there and learn it,” she told Noisey. “I was a bored kid. I had no friends, so I said, ‘OK I’m going to make beats.’”
After branching out and taking music lessons, WondaGurl realized working in isolation was her preferred mode. “I can’t play piano, or drums. I went to training a few times, but I got bored,” she told Noisey. “I don’t like having a teacher — I’d rather watch Youtube.”
“I was a bored kid. I had no friends, so I said, “OK I’m going to make beats.’”
From her early days as a self-taught bedroom producer, she expanded her arsenal and entered some beat battles after becoming a teenager. The long hours of practice clearly paid off — it only took her two tries to emerge victorious. Not long after WondaGurl secured her first beat battle victory, she started getting attention from industry insiders like star rapper Travis Scott.
Their connection started one fateful day when she heard the song “Blocka” by Pusha T featuring Popcaan and Scott, which inspired her to make a reggae-influenced cut. After digging for different reggae songs, she stumbled upon one that was ripe for chopping up. “I was at home one day and I was looking for reggae samples for a while and I finally found this one that was crazy, Sizzla ‘Solid as a Rock,’” she told MTV News. “I cut it up and put it in the software FL Studio and I started building around it, adding 808s. The more I built, the more I knew what I wanted." Once the track was complete, she realized Scott was a perfect fit and sent him the instrumental.
That’s when things took a crazy turn. Instead of using the track for himself, Scott passed it along to Jay-Z. “A few days after he messaged me and said, ‘I’m about to change your life,’” she told CBC News.
“I don’t like having a teacher — I’d rather watch Youtube.”
Scott then called WondaGurl to tell her Jay-Z was using her beat for the song “Crown” on his Magna Carta Holy Grail album. The moment was overwhelming and left her at a loss for words. “I felt like crying,” she told CBC News.
While some might consider a Jay-Z album placement the top of the mountain, WondaGurl isn’t resting on her laurels. Not long after telling MTV News Drake was one of her dream artists to work with, she direct messaged him an instrumental on Instagram and asked if he would use it for an upcoming project. Though Drake said he probably wouldn’t, the track ended up becoming “Used To” from If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late.
At age 19, WondaGurl already has album credits with two of the most successful rappers in the world. Still not satisfied with her growing list of achievements, she has her sights set on working with Kanye West and winning a Grammy. She also hopes her story inspires other women to try to break into industries that lack gender balance. “You can do anything that you want,” she told CBC News. “Not even in music. Anything that is male-dominated, you can do it. Just try.”
Connect with WondaGurl on Facebook, Instagram, Soundcloud, and on Twitter @WondaGurlBeats.
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