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Ezinma

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For the literary character named Ezinma, see Things Fall Apart.

Ezinma
Ezinma in 2021
Ezinma in 2021
Background information
Birth nameMeredith Ezinma Ramsay[1]
Born (1991-01-11) January 11, 1991 (age 33)[2]
Lincoln, Nebraska
Genreship hop, classical
Occupations
  • Violinist
  • composer
  • model
  • educator
InstrumentViolin
Years active2016–present
Labels

Meredith Ezinma Ramsay (born January 11, 1991),[2] known professionally as Ezinma, is an American violinist, model, music educator and film composer from Lincoln, Nebraska. Ramsay gained viral fame in 2017 by performing a violin cover of American rapper Future's hit "Mask Off", and for her performance during Beyoncé's 2018 Coachella performance. In 2020 she debuted as a solo musician under Universal Music Classics.

Life and career

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Early life

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Ezinma was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, to a Guyanese father and German-American mother.[3] Her father is a professor of actuarial science,[4] while her mother is a creative non-fiction author and works as an English professor.[5] Ezinma started playing the violin at age three, and continued to play throughout school.[4] By junior high school, she felt alone as she was often the only black classical musician onstage,[6] and did not meet another black string musician until she was 13.[7] As a child, she listened to a wide range of music, including her funk, reggae, jazz, and Caribbean soca due to her father,[7] and Americana through her mother.[8]

Ezinma attended the University of Nebraska–Lincoln,[9] where she originally studied pre-med, before switching degrees to music.[10] At university, Ezinma formed a string and piano trio, and was mentored by members of the Chiara String Quartet.[11][12]

In 2012, Ezinma moved from Nebraska to New York to study at Mannes School of Music, the classical division of the New School,[13][6] which helped her see outside the rules of classical music.[10] Ezinma began releasing music featuring both her violin performance and vocals, and intended to release these songs on an extended play called I Am Ezinma in 2016.[10]

Viral popularity

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Ezinma began posting videos of her performing violin covers of songs to social media in 2016. Her first cover was a 15 second clip of Adele's "Hello" posted to Instagram.[4] During this time, Ezinma continued to release original music, such as "Elevate Me" in 2016,[14] and the instrumental "Give It Up" in 2017.[15]

In April 2017, Ezinma uploaded a cover of Future "Mask Off" as a part of a viral challenge featuring instrumental covers of the song.[16] Ezinma's version gained her millions of views across Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, and led to a sudden increase in her popularity.[3] American musician Beyoncé took notice of Ezinma's videos on social media (even before her version of "Mask Off"),[4] and invited her to perform as a part of Beyoncé's 2018 Coachella performance in April 2018.[7] Between 2017 and 2018, Ezinma appeared in modelling campaigns for Adidas,[17] Gap Inc.[18] and Gucci.[19]

Debut

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In early 2019, Ramsay signed to Universal Music Classics.[20] She plans to release a classical-fusion album with hip-hop/trap influences in 2020, entitled Key of Black Minor, to be released alongside a documentary of her life.[4][7] Ramsay has worked as a film composer, scoring the soundtracks to the documentary film The Times of Bill Cunningham (2020),[21] and the Oluniké Adeliyi-starring short film Promise Me (2020).[22] In August, Ezinma released her debut single "Beethoven Pleads the Fifth".[23]

Ezinma partnered with Wide Open School, Re-Create (a program to provide educational content for public elementary schools in New York) and After-School All-Stars to create violin-related educational content for schools and after-school programs in the United States.[6]

Personal life

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Ezinma's parents divorced when she was young, and she has two brothers and two sisters.[4] Her mother, Lisa Knopp, is an author of creative non-fiction books, and works as a professor at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.[24][5]

She is an honorary member of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority.

Discography

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Extended plays

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Title Details
Classical Bae

Singles

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List of singles, showing year released and album name
Title Year Album
"Beethoven Pleads the Fifth"[26] 2020 Classical Bae
"Vivaldi Springs Forth"[27]
"Drummer Bae"[28] Non-album single
"Ode to Hustle"[29] 2021 Classical Bae

Guest appearances

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Title Year Other artists Album
"String Quartet No. 1"[30] 2015 Ayumi Okada, Karen Dekker, Rose Hashimoto, James Waldo Here, Where the Land Ends and the Sea Begins
"Piano Trio No. 1"[30] Ayumi Okada, James Waldo, Alyona Aksyonova
"Black Panther"[31] 2018 Kendrick Lamar Black Panther: The Album
"All the Stars"[31] Kendrick Lamar, SZA
"Dazed & Confused [Acoustic Version]"[32] Ruel Non-album single
"Poison Intro"[33] Swizz Beatz, Áine Zion Poison
"Lift Every Voice and Sing"[34] 2019 Beyoncé Homecoming: The Live Album
"Déjà Vu"[35] Beyoncé, Jay-Z
"Don't Hurt Yourself"[36] Beyoncé
"Heaven's Gate"[37] Jae the Dreamer Equal & Opposite
"When We're Awake"[38] Sam O.B., Denitia Non-album single

References

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  1. ^ "SEZINMA - Trademark Details". Justia. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Ramsay, Meredith Ezinma. "It's my birthday bitches... #capricorn". Facebook. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Bernucca, Carolyn (September 5, 2019). "Hip-Hop Violinist Ezinma is Much More Than a Viral Sensation". Complex. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Bates, Ericka (October 25, 2017). "Who is Ezinma? #ClassicalBae". Pynk Magazine. Archived from the original on April 15, 2018. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Lisa Knopp". University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c Hill, Selena (May 30, 2020). "Hip-op Violinist Ezinma Is Giving Children of Color Access to Classical Music". Black Enterprise. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  7. ^ a b c d Schreil, Cristina (June 4, 2018). "Ezinma mixes hip-hop and classical music to send a bold message about blackness". Hello Giggles. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  8. ^ "Ezinma". The Mugic Rag. April 15, 2016. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  9. ^ "WNCC hosts Piano Trio from UNL". Star-Herald. January 12, 2011. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  10. ^ a b c Gompers, Sjimon (2015). "WEEK IN POP: ANDY CLOCKWISE, EZINMA, RABBIT RABBIT". Impose Magazine. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  11. ^ Guzman, Maricia (January 25, 2011). "Ambitious trio thrives in musical rapport, spreads fine arts across Midwest". The Daily Nebraskan. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  12. ^ "Ezinma Trio are Arriaga Finalists" (PDF). Hixson–Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts. 2011. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  13. ^ "EZINMA". Dyme Jays. October 27, 2018. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  14. ^ White, Erin (July 1, 2016). "VIDEO PREMIERE: CLASSICALLY TRAINED VIOLINIST EZINMA FORGES ECLECTIC NICHE BLENDING HIP-HOP AND CLASSICAL IN "ELEVATE ME"". Afropunk. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  15. ^ Shouneyia, Alexa (March 21, 2017). "Ezinma Finds Herself in 'Give It Up' Visual: Exclusive Premiere". Billboard. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  16. ^ Jones, Jaleesa M. (April 6, 2017). "The Mask Off Challenge will have you looping Future all day". USA Today. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  17. ^ "#WeAreMore: Classic Meets Modern with @iamezinma and The adidas Tubular Shadow". Finish Line, Inc. December 8, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  18. ^ Howland, Daphne (August 20, 2018). "Gap taps activists, artists for inclusive ad campaign". Retail Dive. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  19. ^ "The Expressionists". Who What Wear. 2018. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  20. ^ "VIOLINIST EZINMA SIGNS TO UNIVERSAL MUSIC CLASSICS IN THE U.S." Top40 Charts. February 1, 2019. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  21. ^ Sanchez, Lauren (February 18, 2020). "Fashion's Finest Dressed for Bill at The Times of Bill Cunningham Special Screening in New York". Vogue. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  22. ^ "Production Credits". Prommise Me Film. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  23. ^ Wolgamott, L. Kent (July 19, 2020). "From Lincoln to Beychella, 'Classical Bae' set to release debut single". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  24. ^ "From Lincoln to Beychella, 'Classical Bae' Set to Release Debut Single". Ezinma. July 19, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  25. ^ "Classical Bae - EP". iTunes. May 14, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  26. ^ Pincus, Nan (August 31, 2020). ""Beethoven Pleads The Fifth" Won't Stay Silent". Part-Time Audiophile. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  27. ^ Heflin, Anna (October 16, 2020). "Ezinma Releases New Single "Vivaldi Springs Forth"". Classical Post. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  28. ^ Alvarado, M. J. (December 3, 2020). "Get Into the HoliSlay Spirit With Ezinma's Hip-Hop Infused Instant Classic "Drummer Bae"". Dirty Cult. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  29. ^ Rich, Coco (March 12, 2021). "INTERVIEW: EZINMA PUSHES CLASSICAL FORWARD RECALLING ITS FIERY ORIGINS". Atwood Magazine. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  30. ^ a b "Here, Where the Land Ends and the Sea Begins". Abundant Silence. 2015. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  31. ^ a b "Various Artists – Black Panther: The Album [Booklet]". Genius. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  32. ^ "Dazed & Confused (feat. Ezinma) [Acoustic Version] - Single". iTunes. 2018. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  33. ^ POISON (booklet). Swizz Beatz. Epic. 2018. 19075872242.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  34. ^ "Lift Every Voice and Sing (Homecoming Live)". Genius. 2019. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  35. ^ "Déjà Vu (Homecoming Live)". Genius. 2019. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  36. ^ "Don't Hurt Yourself (Homecoming Live)". Genius. 2019. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  37. ^ "Equal & Opposite". iTunes. 2019. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  38. ^ "When We're Awake". Bandcamp. 2019. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
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