Photo: Dylan Rives
Wondagurl is known for cooking up beats for some of the biggest Hip-Hop stars in the music industry like Travis Scott, Drake and plenty other legends. With the new year just around the corner, the superstar producer plans to expand her professional pallet from avid beatmaker to dedicated artist.
On a cool night in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood, Wondagurl mingles with an intimate crowd inside Soundlux Audio with a glass of Tequila Avión Reserva 44 in her hand. It's the first time she's acted as the host of the tequila brand's unique listening experience, which made its debut last year in Brooklyn.
“Expect to experience how sound changes the way you taste," Wondagurl tells iHeartRadio about the sonic event. "Just the highs and the lows, like the high frequencies and the low frequencies. It's gonna change the way you taste tequila so I'm pretty excited."
Hailing from Canada, the esteemed producer was discovered by Boi-1da and received her first major placement on JAY-Z's Magna Carta... Holy Grail. Since then, she's spent the majority of her career in the music industry behind the boards crafting beats for an array of artists from Lil Uzi Vert to icons like Mariah Carey. Her knack for cooking up Grammy-nominated sounds gave her the upper hand as she guided each attendee through a sonic journey that describes Avión's tequila-making process.
“I tell stories through audio, and I was truly blown away by what the team at Tequila Avión accomplished during the original version of their audio experience,” Wondagurl says of her new partnership with the Tequila brand. “I was thrilled at the chance to bring my own take to the sonic journey, while leveraging this as an opportunity to support aspiring musicians through offering a chance to win personally curated at-home studio bundles and for one worthy person, a 1 on 1 virtual session with me.”
Wondagurl led the experience with assistance from Tequila Avión Brand Advocacy Manager Carlos Andrés Ramirez. The experience began with the actual sounds of the tequila being made in the fields of Mexico as guests sipped on the dark Tequila Avión Reserva 44 and the light Cristalino. They were surrounded by other notable guests like the Miami Heat's DJ IRIE, Marcello “Cool” Valenzano of Grammy award-winning production duo Cool & Dre, producer Marcella Araica, and artist Aileen Quintana. Quintana interpreted the sounds that were featured in the sonic journey and transformed them into colorful art pieces, which were put on display during the event.
Photo: Dylan Rives
In addition to the sensory-driven experience, Wondagurl also teamed up with the tequila brand for a special contest. The "Fair Trade" producer is offering other producers a chance to win an at-home studio set-up from Perfect Circuit. The prize includes a synthesizer, studio monitor, closed-back studio headphones, vocal microphone, audio interface, keyboard controller, cables, and $250 gift card. As if a free producer care package isn't enough, Wondagurl will also offer a free session with her to provide the winner with any kind of professional advice and other tips.
"I just handpicked a couple different things that I feel like is a good starter kit for these producers," Wondagurl explains. "I'm hoping that they enjoy that. I think they'll really appreciate it. They can expect to get their questions answered plus whatever they want to hear about my experience and how it's been for me in the music industry over the years."
Wondagurl's experience in Hip-Hop has been nothing short of amazing. She's been one of most sought-after female producers in the rap game and continues to churn out critically-acclaimed tracks like Rihanna's "B*tch Better Have My Money," Pop Smoke's "Aim For The Moon" featuring Quavo, and most recently "Somewhere to Fly" on Kid Cudi's latest album Entergalactic. After creating so many epic sounds during her career, Wondagurl is finally ready to step into the spotlight as an artist. She's gearing up to release her debut album next year and intends to drop it by the summertime.
"It feels good," Wondagurl shares about her upcoming project. "It's something that I've wanted to do for a long time. This is a more so instrumental electronic album that I'm doing. I feel like it's very true to me. I used to drop beats on SoundCloud back in the day, and I've gained a lot of of fans through that. They've just been kind of just waiting for me to drop some stuff. So it feels good to be able to get to that point where I can do so."
Look out for Wondagurl's debut album coming next year. For now, check out more scenes from her exclusive event with Tequila Avión below.