16 Year Old Nigerian Girl Produces Beats For Jay-Z’s New Album

A Canadian-Nigerian girl aged 16 has been credited with producing the beat for one of the songs in rapper Jay-Z’s new album, Magna Carta Holy Grail. Her name is Ebony Oshunrinde and her name is listed on the album for producing the beats of Crown. “It’s a really good feeling. I want to show young people that they can do it. Anybody can be successful. It doesn’t matter where you’re from,” said the elated beat maker on being featured by one of the greatest rappers in the world. How did this come to be? Oshunrinde (aka WondaGurl) had already started making beats at an early age. At 9 she downloaded a music software and self-schooled herself. “I was amazed at the idea of creating something out of scratch,” she said. With the help of several tutorial YouTube videos, Ebony became good enough to  later win a  Toronto Battle of the Beat Makers award. That was when she decided to get serious with her music career, and she got signed on with Black Box, the same label as Classified, and started working in a studio. A few weeks ago, she watched a video showing Jay-Z and mega producer Timbaland working in the studio together on the album. “It inspired me and I wanted to do the exact same thing that he did,” she enthused. The beat that landed on Jay-Z’s album began with a reggae song. Oshunrinde sampled the music and added her own twist using computer software. She worked on her beat once and sent it to Travis Scott, a young rapper and producer from Houston who met Oshunrinde last year. “It has a lot of bass and a lot of bounce,” she commented.  He happened to be working in the studio with Jay-Z when she sent him her beat. A few days later, Oshunrinde was at home with her brother and sister when her phone buzzed. “He texted me and said, ‘I’m about to change your life.” When Scott told her that her cut made it on to Jay-Z’s album, she thought he was joking. “Usually that doesn’t really happen to 16-year-olds,” the teen said. She just got her passport last year, and hopes she’ll meet the rap mogul when she travels to the US soon. Oshunrinde has never met Jay-Z and, like everyone else, had to wait for the digital release on July 4 to hear “Crown.” Watch her interview below: