Michael Uzowuru (born November 10, 1991) is an American record producer. He has produced and written for

SZA Solána Imani Rowe (born November 8, 1989), known professionally as SZA ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, she began making music in the early 2010s, releasing two extended plays before signing with the hip ...

Frank Ocean Christopher Francis "Frank" Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux; October 28, 1987), is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper. His works are noted by music critics for featuring avant-garde styles and introspective, elliptical lyrics. Ocean ...

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

Donald Glover Donald McKinley Glover Jr. (; born September 25, 1983), also known by his stage name Childish Gambino (), is an American entertainer, writer, director, and producer. After working in Derrick Comedy while studying at New York University, Glove ...

Vince Staples Vincent Jamal Staples (born July 2, 1993) is an American rapper and singer. Staples was once a close associate of Odd Future, Mike G and Earl Sweatshirt in particular. He is currently signed to Motown and Blacksmith Records. Staples rose to pr ...

Earl Sweatshirt Thebe Neruda Kgositsile (born February 24, 1994), also known by his stage name Earl Sweatshirt, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Kgositsile was originally known by the moniker Sly Tendencies when he began rapping in 2008, ...

, and

Rosalía Rosalia Vila Tobella (born 25 September 1992), known mononymously as Rosalía (, ), is a Spanish singer. Born and raised in the outskirts of Barcelona, she has been described as an "atypical pop star" due to her genre-bending musical styles. ...

, among others.

Life and career

Michael Uzowuru was born on November 10, 1991, in Los Angeles and raised in both

Cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the ...

, California and

Rancho Cucamonga Rancho Cucamonga was a Mexican land grant in present-day San Bernardino County, California, given in 1839 to the dedicated soldier, smuggler and politician Tiburcio Tapia by Mexican governor Juan Bautista Alvarado. The grant formed parts of pr ...

, California. He is of

Igbo Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (disambiguation) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a t ...

descent.

2010–2015: Career beginnings

Uzowuru began his music career by making independent beat tapes and working with a number of collaborators. His early projects include works with

and

Odd Future Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, better known as Odd Future and often abbreviated as OF, was an American Hip hop music, hip-hop Musical collective, music collective formed in Los Angeles County, California in 2007. The original members were Ty ...

Domo Genesis Dominique Marquis Cole (born March 9, 1991), known professionally as Domo Genesis, is an American rapper and songwriter. He is best known for being a member of Los Angeles hip hop collective Odd Future. He has since continued his solo career, re ...

Matt Martians Matthew Martin (born September 12, 1988), better known by his stage name Matt Martians, is an American record producer, illustrator, singer, and songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia. Aside from his solo career, Martians was a founding member of Los ...

from

the Jet Age of Tomorrow The Jet Age of Tomorrow (formerly The Super 3) is an American production duo from Atlanta, Georgia and a sub-group of hip hop collective Odd Future that consists of producer-singer Matt Martians, and producer-rapper Pyramid Vritra. According to Mar ...

, and

Hodgy Beats Gerard Damien Long (born November 9, 1990), better known by his stage name Hodgy (formerly Hodgy Beats), is an American rapper, record producer and music video director. He is best known for being a founding member of the hip hop collective Odd F ...

. In early 2012, Uzowuru released a mixtape entitled ''Winter in Prague'' with longtime friend and collaborator

. The mixtape received positive reviews from critics and fans. In 2013, Uzowuru produced the opening track "Pre" for

's debut album '' Doris''. Later that year, he produced "Tweakin" and "Yap Yap" for Chicago rapper

Vic Mensa Vic (; es, Vic or Pancracio Celdrán (2004). Diccionario de topónimos españoles y sus gentilicios (5ª edición). Madrid: Espasa Calpe. p. 843. ISBN 978-84-670-3054-9. «Vic o Vich (viquense, vigitano, vigatán, ausense, ausetano, ausonense) ...

's second mixtape ''

Innanetape ''Innanetape'' (stylized as ''INNANETAPE'') is the debut mixtape by American rapper Vic Mensa. It was released on September 30, 2013, as a free digital download. The mixtape features guest appearances from Chance the Rapper, Ab-Soul, Rockie Fres ...

''. In addition to producing for other artists, he has released a number of instrumental and solo projects. Notably ''Paisley Palm Trees'', which was premiered by ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...

'' magazine and ''Pink Orchids'', released in August 2014. A departure from his usual beat production, the project is composed of cinematic instrumentals with a feature from

on the track "Waves".

2016–present

Uzowuru's name appeared on the production credits for

's 2016 visual album ''

Endless Endless or The Endless may refer to: Business * Endless (private equity), a British firm * Endless.com, an e-commerce website selling shoes and accessories * Endless Computers, an American operating system company Film * ''The Endless'' (film) ...

'' and Ocean's long-awaited second studio album ''

Blonde Blond (male) or blonde (female), also referred to as fair hair, is a hair color characterized by low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some yellowish color. The color can ...

''. Uzowuru is credited as both a writer and a producer on the track "Nights". He also executive produced rapper

Kevin Abstract Clifford Ian Simpson (born July 16, 1996), known by his stage name Kevin Abstract, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter, known for his role as a founding member of Brockhampton. He released his debut album, '' MTV1987'', in 2014 to crit ...

's second album ''American Boyfriend'', which debuted in the Fall of 2016. In 2017, he appeared as co-producer on

's single "Chanel", released on Ocean's

Beats1 Apple Music 1, previously branded as Beats 1, is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. It is accessible through iTunes or the Apple Music app on a computer, smartphone or tablet, smart speaker (such as the Apple HomePod), ...

radio show. Scott Vener and

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...

premiered a remix done by Uzowuru and collaborator

Jeff Kleinman Jeff Kleinman (born September 23, 1988) is an American record producer and composer. He has produced for artists such as Beyoncé, Frank Ocean, FKA Twigs, Kevin Abstract and Anderson .Paak. His music is featured in Academy Award The ...

Little Dragon Little Dragon are a Swedish electronic music band from Gothenburg, Sweden, formed in 1996. The band consists of Yukimi Nagano (vocals, percussion), Erik Bodin (drums), Fredrik Wallin (bass) and Håkan Wirenstrand (keyboards). Little Dragon's ...

's "High" featuring

Denzel Curry Denzel Rae Don Curry (born February 16, 1995) is an American rapper and singer. Born and raised in Carol City, Florida, Curry started rapping while in the sixth grade and began working on his first mixtape in 2011. Influenced by underground Flor ...

and Twelve'len In 2018, Uzowuru's work appeared on

Anderson .Paak Brandon Paak Anderson (born February 8, 1986), better known by his stage name Anderson .Paak (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and drummer. He released his debut mixtape, ''O.B.E. Vol. 1,'' in 2012 and went on to rel ...

's "Til It's Over", which was used in

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

's "Welcome Home" commercial directed by

Spike Jonze Adam H. Spiegel (born October 22, 1969), known professionally as Spike Jonze, is an American filmmaker, actor, musician, and photographer. His work includes commercials, film, music videos, skateboard videos and television. Jonze began his ca ...

. Following "Welcome Home", he produced and wrote an additional song for Apple's iPad Pro commercial of the same year. In spring 2019, Uzowuru composed the score for the short film ''

Guava Island ''Guava Island'' is a 2019 American musical film directed by Hiro Murai (his feature directorial debut) with a screenplay by Stephen Glover from a story by Donald Glover, Stephen Glover, Ibra Ake, Jamal Olori and Fam Udeorji. It stars Donald Glo ...

'', starring and produced by

, which was released by Amazon Studios. That following summer, Uzowuru was credited for writing and production on

's compilation album The Lion King: The Gift, having worked on the tracks "Mood 4 Eva" and "Brown Skin Girl". Continuing with his production and writing work, Uzowuru appears on credits for artists like

FKA Twigs Tahliah Debrett Barnett (born 17 January 1988), known professionally as FKA Twigs (stylized as FKA twigs), is an English singer, songwriter, and dancer. Born and raised in Cheltenham, she became a backup dancer for numerous famous musicians aft ...

and

GoldLink D'Anthony William Carlos (born May 17, 1993), better known by his stage name GoldLink, is an American rapper and singer. In 2014, he released his debut mixtape, ''The God Complex'', which received critical acclaim. In June 2015, GoldLink was cho ...

. In Fall of 2019, Uzowuru appeared on the production and writing credits of

's "

In My Room "In My Room" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Gary Usher for the American rock band the Beach Boys. It was released on their 1963 album '' Surfer Girl''. It was also released as the B-side of the " Be True to Your School" single. The single ...

". In 2020 he began working on the upcoming album of Spanish songstress

Discography

Music for Film

Writing & Production Credits

Mixtapes & EPs

Singles

* *

References

25 New Producers To Watch Out ForThe FADER - Michael UzowuruDownload Vince Staples and Michael Uzowuru’s Winter In Prague Mixtape
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uzowuru, Michael American hip hop musicians 1991 births Living people American people of Igbo descent