Wonder Gang Are Blowing Up, and That Was the Plan

Hip-hop was the first love of Zimbabwean music duo Wonder Gang. When brothers T.K. Savage and Keith Wonder arrived in the U.S. as teenagers, they learned to navigate the culture by way of bars from Jay-Z, Lil Wayne and other ’90s and 2000s heavy hitters. Now, with their debut mixtape Wonderland, which dropped last November, the two are gearing up to take over the landscape, both behind the scenes and at the forefront.

Wonderland arrives nearly three years after Wonder Gang’s breakthrough single “Ice Cola,” a debauched anthem stacked with melodic bars and allusions to nonstop partying. Between now and then, Savage and Wonder never took their foot off the gas. Wonder Gang composed music for HBO’s since-canceled skating drama Betty, went on tour with Tay Money and recorded in nearly every city they visited over the past three years: Austin, San Antonio, Chino Hills, Los Angeles and Dallas – where they grew up.

For the brothers, LA delivered as a “City of Dreams.” Savage and Wonder saw theirs begin to take off as they worked with super producer Jeff Bhasker on a good portion of Wonderland.

“We started having these conversations about like moving to LA, and [Bhasker] was like, ‘Yeah, let’s facilitate it,'” says Savage. “We finished up the mixtape, and he wanted to hear it, so we flew to LA and we played it for him at his house in West Hollywood. He was really impressed by it, and while we were performing it in front of him, he was recording it. He sent the video to Cristina Chavez and Jennifer Knoepfle [of Universal Music Group’s A&R department] and he was like, ‘You guys need to meet up with them while you’re in town.'”

Since the meeting, Savage and Wonder noted they have produced and recorded eight songs for movies “that are still in the works.” They’ve also worked with Halsey, Snoh Aalegra and Kehlani on upcoming music.

The members of Wonder Gang have since opted to remain independent artists but they ended up signing a publishing deal through Bhasker. Additionally, Bhasker helped the duo form a connection with Portugal. The Man, who collaborated with Wonder Gang on a song called “Diamonds Interlude.”

When the duo first linked up with Portugal. The Man in the studio, they admittedly didn’t know who they were.

“We walked in and see a group of these guys just sitting down. At first we didn’t recognize them, because it’s been a minute since like we saw that ‘Feel It Still’ video that blew them up, but they look familiar,” says Savage.

At first, Savage thought they may have been an LA-based band Bhasker was working with. During this particular session, Bhasker didn’t refer to the band by name, but asked Savage and Wonder if they could lend a helpful ear to Bhasker and Portugal. The Man.

“[Bhasker] was like, ‘Could you guys just come in and take a listen?’ They’re working on their album,” says Savage. “So we went inside, and they have a drawing board with all the songs. So, I was like, ‘Oh they’re really tapped in.’ And they started playing mixes and I was like, ‘Man, this music is really good.’ Keith and I started giving them pointers and trying to help them, saying ‘I’d change this,’ or ‘I’d add that’ or ‘Take away this.'”

It wasn’t until later on in the session, when Savage was on a couch talking to the band’s lead vocalist John Baldwin that he made the connection. When Savage received the notification that Balwin followed him back on Instagram through the band’s page, he quickly realized exactly to whom he’d been speaking.

Though Wonder Gang has made fans internationally, the two keep Texas close to their heart. They collaborated with Dallas legend Big Tuck on the Wonderland cut, “In The South.”

On the song, the duo plots a world takeover but still reps the South. Over trap-inspired percussion and country guitar loops, Wonder Gang crafts a unique soundscape while paying homage to their Southern roots.

Making the video for “In The South” brought a new challenge to Wonder Gang. The two worked with director Jaren Higgens for the visual, which follows them and Tuck out and about at local stables, saloons and in the streets with lowriders.

“I was just like, ‘Man, we got to do something very cinematic.’ Those are the types of videos I like,” says Wonder. “So we sat down and wrote the storyline, and we started looking for models and people who wanted to join us. We went to a stable with the horses, and we had to learn how to ride horses for the first time. It was fun, and we were new to the whole thing.”

Most of Wonderland makes for a soundtrack to your next big party. But a standout track, “Sunday,” finds Wonder Gang pondering their spirituality and existence and questioning the impact they’ll have years from now.

“Why are there millionaires in Congress when there are homeless ones around me? / But hope they hear me one day / You pray to your God, but only on a Sunday / Can’t you realize that we’re gonna die someday / I’ve been going crazy,” sings Wonder on one of the song’s verses.

According to the boys, “Sunday” was one of the more daunting songs to approach for the mixtape.

“People are used to listening to a certain style of music from the artists that they love or a certain kind of subject matter,” says Wonder. “We wanted to challenge our listeners by putting out a song that made you look within, and challenge people’s connection to the universe, and their connection to their own spirituality.”

Wonder Gang is about to be everywhere. Having made many contributions to artists’ work behind the scenes and garnering much buzz with Wonderland, the duo are on their way to becoming a household name.

Though the two are inevitably bound to find themselves in a bidding war among the three major labels, Wonder and Savage are reaping the fruits of their labor as independent artists, enjoying their freedom and creating on their own terms.

“As an independent artist, you still have power in your hands,” says Savage. “You can upload a song today on SoundCloud and have direct access to your own fans. You have your own algorithms with TikTok and stuff like that, and it kind of puts the power back in the hands of independent artists to not have to play games. We love those kinds of challenges, and we love pushing ourselves.”