Kanye West enlisted a sixth-grader named Zen Micheline Hung to play piano on the emotional “DONDA” standout “Come To Life.”
By now, it’s no secret that DONDA’s vast list of creators is almost comedically large in scope, and the mere fact that Yeezy was able to compile a thematically cohesive project is an impressive feat unto itself. And though Kanye West‘s smorgasbord approach to album creation can ruffle a few feathers, it can also lead to some genuinely interesting moments of collaboration.
Take “Come To Life,” for example. The album’s twenty-second track and one of the final songs before a slew of sequels kicks off, the track features a beautiful instrumental with a prominent piano presence. Today, the Kaufman Music Center revealed that one of their students — a sixth-grader named Zen Micheline Hung, actually played piano on the emotional DONDA track.
Brad Barket/Getty Images
“How cool is this? 6th grader Zen Micheline Hung (far right), a student at #SpecialMusicSchool, our K-12 NYC public school that teaches music as a core subject, plays piano on a song called “Come to Life” on @kanyewest ‘s new album, “Donda”!” tweets the Kaufman Music Center, sharing a picture of Kanye West and several students.
There’s also a clip of Hung performing the piano part of “Come To Life,” showcasing her impressive musical talent at an early age. No matter how you might feel about Kanye West, it’s cool to see him actively looking to collaborate with young creatives; one has to wonder if he’ll continue down that road on future releases.
Check out the footage of Hung’s “Come To Life” piano performance below, and much respect to Kanye West for allowing such a cool opportunity to begin with.