Ezinma

Known for her unlikely fusion of classical music and hip-hop, New York-based violinist Ezinma built an audience in the latter half of the 2010s by posting unique covers of well-known trap hits. The viral success of her videos, particularly Future's "Mask Off," led to high-profile opportunities outside the classical world including a tour with Beyoncé and collaborations with Stevie Wonder and Kendrick Lamar. Sometimes referred to as "Classical Bae," Ezinma became an advocate for exposing minority children to classical music and in 2020 launched a recording career with her first original track, "Beethoven Pleads the Fifth." Born to a Guyanese father and German-American mother in Lincoln, Nebraska, Meredith Ezinma Ramsay often felt like an outsider as a mixed-race kid in the predominantly white American heartland. Discovering the violin at a young age, she quickly developed an outlet for her passion and devoted herself to the instrument, earning a handful of prestigious scholarships and studying abroad. Although she initially decided to pursue a pre-med degree at University of Nebraska, additional training with Chiara String Quartet member Hyeyung Yoon convinced Ezinma to pursue a professional music career, and in 2012 she won a scholarship to study at the New School in New York. The move proved to be a fruitful one and while climbing the ladder of the classical world with performances at Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center, she began to widen her circle of influence, studying jazz, playing in various bands, and playing with hip-hop and R&B elements. In the mid-2010s, Ezinma began posting videos of herself arranging famous hip-hop and trap songs for violin. Several of them, like Lil Pump's "Gucci Gang" and especially Future's "Mask Off," went viral, and in 2016, she was approached to join Beyoncé's all-female band. This immersion into the pop world included stints on Beyoncé's Formation World Tour, the Lemonade release, and her acclaimed Homecoming performance at Coachella. Ezinma also added strings to several Mac Miller songs and over the next few years played with A$AP Ferg, Stevie Wonder, Yo-Yo Ma, and many others. In addition, she delved into film work, composing scores for the 2017 documentary The Times of Bill and the 2019 short film Promise Me. Nicknamed Classical Bae, Ezinma signed a contract with Decca Records and began focusing on original music for her first solo release. Her debut single, "Beethoven Pleads the Fifth," appeared in 2020 and was a quirky, beat-driven riff on Beethoven's famed Fifth Symphony. ~ Timothy Monger