Cactus Jack’s Most Important Artist Who You’ve Never Heard Of
This Canadian producer signed to Travis Scott has been in the game for a decade, working with Drake, Jay-Z, Rihanna, Kid Cudi, and more, yet no one ever talks about her.
By: Harry Sutton
Travis Scott is one of the biggest names in current pop culture; the Houston native has used his stature in music to create a perennially successful brand. In tandem with his monikers, Cactus Jack and LaFlame, Scott has undeniably impacted American culture, venturing into quite a few realms outside of music: a McDonald’s meal, a live Fortnite concert, and a line of hard seltzers, to name a few.
One of the most important parts of Scott’s life as both a rapper and an entrepreneur is his record label, Cactus Jack Records. In just the five years of its existence, CJR has brought some serious talent to the label. The roster is loaded with flair and potential, composed of Don Toliver, Sheck Wes, SoFaygo, and, of course, Travis himself.
Cactus Jack Records also represents two producers: a long-time friend of Travis, Chase B, and a powerhouse beatmaker who is rarely discussed, Wondagurl. Wondagurl is only 26 but started working with Travis when she was 16. She has produced some of the biggest songs in rap’s recent years but is never mentioned in the same conversations as epochal producers like Wheezy, Murda Beatz, and Pi’erre Bourne.
In 2012, Ebony Oshunrinde won a beat-making competition where megaproducer Boi-1da (pronounced Boy Wunda) was present. Boi-1da, who had an extensive professional history with the likes of Kendrick, Rihanna, and Drake, decided to take the young Oshunrinde under his wing. Out of respect and appreciation to Boi-1da, she dubbed herself WondaGurl.
In 2022, she is still only 26 and already has producer credits on some of the biggest songs of the last few years, including Scott’s “Antidote” and “No Bystanders,” Drake’s “Fair Trade,” and Rihanna’s “Bitch Better Have My Money.” She’s also credited on one of the most venerated trap songs of all time: Scott’s “90210”, where the beat switch alone would convince any listener that whoever produced the song is the next Timbaland.
After being catapulted to the top of the music industry while she was still in high school, WondaGurl has grown into adulthood, surrounded by some of the most influential figures in rap music. She has an extensive catalog of high-quality production for massive artists, including credits on Lil Uzi Vert’s LUV Is Rage 2 and Drake’s If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late.
With a library as impressive as hers, it’s surprising that WondaGurl isn’t talked about more. I draw it up to the fact that she doesn’t use a memorable producer tag. While many of today’s most popular producers enlist Kodak Black or Drake to holler their name in their producer tag, Wondagurl has never added such an accent to her work. Her repertoire of songs is just as impressive as that of Metro Boomin or Tay Keith, but she is overlooked because her name isn’t spoken immediately before the beat drops on any of her songs. Phrases like “if young Metro don’t trust you, I’m gon’ shoot you” have become so ingrained in the culture of today’s rap that they evoke a pavlovian response in listeners. The popularity of modern producers is largely derivative of their catchy tags, but WondaGurl’s lack of said branding is almost certainly why she is absent in producer-related discourse.
With Utopia delayed but seemingly still on its way, fans are eager to see more work from Cactus Jack’s squad. SoFaygo and Don Toliver are almost guaranteed to feature on the record, and production is expected from both WondaGurl and Chase B.
Despite her youth, WondaGurl has cemented herself in the game as a bona fide master of production, responsible for much of the dark and grungy atmosphere of Travis’s work. Working at the top before she even had a driver’s license, WondaGurl has become one of the best in the game, and – producer tag or not – the world is bound to realize sooner or later.