Quick Facts
Scorpio
Biography
Michael Uzowuru (born November 10, 1991) is an American record producer. He has produced and written for Frank Ocean, Beyoncé, Donald Glover, Vince Staples, and Earl Sweatshirt, among others.
Life and Career
Michael Uzowuru was born on November 11, 1991 in Los Angeles and raised in both Cypress, California and Rancho Cucamonga, California. He is of Igbo descent.
2010 to 2015: Beginnings
Uzowuru began his music career by making independent beat tapes and working with a number of collaborators. His early projects include works with Vince Staples and Odd Future's Domo Genesis, Matt Martians from The Jet Age of Tomorrow, and Hodgy Beats.
In 2012, Uzowuru released a mixtape entitled Winter in Prague with longtime friend and collaborator Vince Staples. The mixtape received positive reviews from critics and fans. In 2013, Uzowuru produced the opening track "Pre" for Earl Sweatshirt's debut album Doris. Later that year, he produced "Tweakin" and "Yap Yap" for Chicago rapper Vic Mensa's second mixtape Innanetape.
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 magazine and his most recent independent project Pink Orchids, released in August 2014. A departure from his usual beat production, the project is composed of cinematic instrumentals with a feature from Vic Mensa on the track "Waves".
2016 to Present
Uzowuru's name appeared on the production credits for Frank Ocean's 2016 visual album Endless and Ocean's long-awaited second studio album Blonde. Uzowuru is credited as both a writer and a producer on the track "Nights". He also executive produced rapper Kevin Abstract's second album American Boyfriend, which debuted in the Fall of 2016.
In 2017, he appeared as co-producer on Frank Ocean's single "Chanel", released on Ocean's Beats1 radio show. Scott Vener and Pharrell Williams premiered a remix done by Uzowuru and collaborator Jeff Kleinman of Little Dragon's "High" featuring Denzel Curry and Twelve'len
In 2018, Uzowuru's work appeared on Anderson Paak's "Til It's Over" which was used in Apple's Welcome Home commercial directed by Spike Jonez. 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, starring and produced by Donald Glover, which was released by Amazon Studios. That following summer, Uzowuru was credited for writing and production on Beyoncé'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 and GoldLink. In Fall of 2019, Uzowuru appeared on the production and writing credits of Frank Ocean's "In My Room".
Discography
Music for Film
| Year | Film | Studio / Company | Director | Credit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Becoming | Netflix | Nadira Hallgren | Producer & writer: "August 15th", "January 5th Prophet v2", "July 7th Joseph & Joshua", "March 11th" |
| 2019 | Guava Island | Amazon | Hiro Murai | Composer |
| 2018 | Welcome Home (commercial) | Apple | Spike Jonze | Producer: "Til It's Over" by Anderson Paak |
| 5 Reasons iPad Pro Can Be Your Next Computer (commercial) | Producer & writer: "Light the Torch" |
Writing & Production Credits
| Year | Artist | Album | Song |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Frank Ocean | Single | "Little Demon" |
| Frank Ocean | Single | "In My Room" | |
| SiR | Chasing Summer | "Hair Down" (featuring Kendrick Lamar) | |
| Beyoncé | The Lion King: The Gift | "Brown Skin Girl" (with Saint Jhn & Wizkid, featuring Blue Ivy Carter) | |
| "Mood 4 Eva" (with Jay-Z & Childish Gambino) | |||
| GoldLink | Diaspora | "Days Like This" (featuring Khalid) | |
| FKA Twigs | Magdalene | "Cellophane" | |
| 2018 | Kelsey Lu | Single | "Due West" |
| Anderson Paak | Single | "Til It's Over" | |
| Jorja Smith | Lost & Found | "February 3rd" | |
| Ludwig Göransson | Black Panther: Wakanda Remixed | "Ancestral Plane" | |
| Choker | Honeybloom | "Drift" "Starfruit NYC" "Jet Stereo" "Daisy" | |
| Troye Sivan | Bloom | "Running Shoes" | |
| 2017 | Little Dragon | Single | "High (Michael Uzowuru & Jeff Kleinman Remix)" |
| Rex Orange County | Apricot Princess | "Waiting Room" | |
| Frank Ocean | Single | "Chanel" | |
| 2016 | Blonde | "Nights" | |
| Endless | "Rushes To" | ||
| Kevin Abstract | American Boyfriend | "Empty" "Seventeen" "Blink" "Tattoo" "Yellow" "Kin" "Runner" "Papercut" "June 29th" "Miserable America" "Echo" "I Do" | |
| 2014 | Vic Mensa | Single | "Major Payne" |
| 2013 | Innanetape | "Tweakin" (featuring Chance the Rapper) "Yap Yap" | |
| Earl Sweatshirt | Doris | "Pre" | |
| 2012 | Domo Genesis | Single | "Crushed Velvet" |
| Vince Staples | Winter in Prague | "Winter in Prague" "Lord" "SK La Sermon" "Twitch" "Waterpark" "Matlock" "Traffic" "SK Climactic" "Mattress" "Black Oprah" | |
| Single | "Champagne Wishlist" | ||
| 2011 | Generic | "Martin Ruger King" "Barreta Scott King" "Gold Chain Ricky" "Vicoden" | |
| Shyne Goldchain Vol. 1 | "Versace Rap" | ||
| Domo Genesis | Single | "Cashmere" | |
| Under the Influence | "Mind Games" | ||
| Hodgy Beats | Single | "April 27th" | |
| 2010 | The Jet Age of Tomorrow | Journey to the 5th Echelon | "Want You Still" (featuring Kilo Kish) |
Mixtapes & EPs
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Pink Orchids | |
| 2012 | Winter in Prague | with Vince Staples |
| 2011 | Paisley Palm Trees | |
| 2010 | Space is the Place | |
| The Mellowest Trip | ||
| No Need for Sense |
Singles
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2015 | "Without You" (featuring Anderson Paak) |
| 2014 | "April 13th" (featuring Vic Mensa) |