Voice of 'The Lion King' Returns for Disney Prequel

Lebo M's voice soundtracked the opening to Disney's classic film "The Lion King" - AFP
Lebo M's voice soundtracked the opening to Disney's classic film "The Lion King" - AFP
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Voice of 'The Lion King' Returns for Disney Prequel

Lebo M's voice soundtracked the opening to Disney's classic film "The Lion King" - AFP
Lebo M's voice soundtracked the opening to Disney's classic film "The Lion King" - AFP

Born into poverty in apartheid-era South Africa and propelled to Hollywood heights, Lebohang Morake became the voice of Disney's classic film "The Lion King" with his powerful Zulu cry.

Now, 30 years after his chant of "Nants' Ingonyama" soared above the film's memorable opening sequence, the 60-year-old South African singer, producer and composer known as Lebo M is back.

This time he sings another opener for the prequel "Mufasa: The Lion King", which tells the story of orphaned lion Mufasa who grows up to be the king of the Pride Lands and the father of Simba.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the music for the film -- due to be released worldwide on December 18-20 -- said on the red carpet he would not have done it without Lebo M, AFP reported.
"That was the dream. I sort of insisted on that the moment I took the job because I think he is the secret sauce," he said at the world premiere in Los Angeles this week.

"I think he is the sound of 'The Lion King' and his choral arrangements, that were in addition to the songs I wrote, I think really make the movie feel of a piece with the original," he added.

The film, directed by Barry Jenkins, premiered in Los Angeles and London this week and opens with Lebo M's composition "Ngomso".

After the enormous impact of his work on the 1994 film, Lebo M told AFP in an interview he had felt the pressure to produce a worthy successor.

"I loved writing the first opening... but having to write and perform a new opening for 'The Lion King' after 30 years... it's quite a big challenge," he said.

In the end, he said, writing "Ngomso" turned out to be a remarkably similar process.

Lebo M produced and composed for the 2010 football World Cup opening and closing ceremonies in South Africa

The "Nants' Ingonyama" cry heard at the start of the "Circle of Life" song in the earlier film, he said, had been a demo for which he simply turned up, performed and left without expecting much to come of it.

Three decades later, he arrived at the studio early in the morning and just started making music "with a hi-hat (cymbals) and a bongo".

"By the time the director and everyone else came in at 11 am I'd written the entire song."

He said committing to the film had the advantage of allowing him to finally work with Miranda, something he had been keen to do for many years.

"It's just amazing energy non-stop. Very little discussion about these chords, this melody. We do! Just go in and everything flows... it allowed us to both to be very, very authentic to the movie," he said.

Born in Soweto in South Africa in 1964, Lebo M has built a reputation as the go-to artist for directors wanting authentic African flair for their productions.

He produced and composed for the 2010 football World Cup opening and closing ceremonies in South Africa.

A long creative association with composer Hans Zimmer, who has written the music for more than 150 films, has seen him feature as a special guest on all Zimmer's world tours.

But success was hard won with low points including racism he experienced, including in the entertainment industry, and two years living on the streets in Los Angeles in the mid-1980s.

"I'm constantly conscious of the fact that I'm a refugee, I'm non-American," he said.

"It was very difficult when Lion King became big in 1994. It was always about the three white guys, Elton John, Tim Rice and Hans Zimmer.

"Being born into extreme poverty was never here or there for me. I had music," he said, adding that as a teenager he had the choice of being a "gangster, a soccer player or the nerd".

This meant immersing himself in music and the arts and by the age of just 14 he was the youngest nightclub singer in South Africa.

Despite an illustrious career, Lebo M said he still bears the scars of the years when he was homeless.

"I've been in survival mode all the way.... Even with the perception of success that one is believed to have, it's still survival mode," he said.

He believes, however, that the US entertainment industry allowed him to "flourish more than I think I would have flourished anywhere else in the world".

After decades mostly behind the scenes, he said he is finally ready to meet his audience with his first of a series of concerts scheduled for next April in South Africa.

"I'm ready because I know there's anticipation in a global audience that would like to experience Lebo M live, not as a guest, not through movies," he said.

"And I also would like to experience that," he added.



Oz, Bond and Quincy Jones: Oscars a Musical Ode to Film Icons

Cynthia Erivo (L) and Ariana Grande perform a 'Wicked'-themed medley to open the 97th Annual Academy Awards. Patrick T. Fallon / AFP
Cynthia Erivo (L) and Ariana Grande perform a 'Wicked'-themed medley to open the 97th Annual Academy Awards. Patrick T. Fallon / AFP
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Oz, Bond and Quincy Jones: Oscars a Musical Ode to Film Icons

Cynthia Erivo (L) and Ariana Grande perform a 'Wicked'-themed medley to open the 97th Annual Academy Awards. Patrick T. Fallon / AFP
Cynthia Erivo (L) and Ariana Grande perform a 'Wicked'-themed medley to open the 97th Annual Academy Awards. Patrick T. Fallon / AFP

The Oscars gala traditionally features performances of all the tracks nominated for best original song -- this year, the ceremony on Sunday bucked norms, but musical numbers still punctuated the show.

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo opened the star-studded gala with a tribute to Los Angeles -- which recently suffered devastating wildfires -- that also celebrated their Oscar-nominated roles in the blockbuster film "Wicked."

In a glimmering red dress and shoes nodding to Dorothy's magic slippers, Grande belted a touching version of the classic ballad "Over the Rainbow" from 1939's "The Wizard of Oz" starring Judy Garland, AFP said.

Erivo then joined to deliver a soaring rendition of "Home" from "The Wiz" -- both "The Wizard of Oz" and 1978's "The Wiz" are tales about the fantastical land of Oz that "Wicked" also riffs on.

Grande and Erivo ultimately brought the audience to its feet with the film's hit song "Defying Gravity," which brought some attendees, including co-star Michelle Yeoh, to tears -- especially thanks to Erivo's chills-inducing climax.

Later in the show came a James Bond medley, a celebration of the film franchise that just controversially came under the creative control of Amazon MGM Studios.

The Oscar stage turned Bond set featured a dance number led by "The Substance" star Margaret Qualley -- who is a trained dancer.

Lisa -- a member of the K-pop group Blackpink -- descended from the ceiling to sing Wings' "Live and Let Die" from that 1973 film.

And Doja Cat literally dripped in diamonds to sing Shirley Bassey's "Diamonds Are Forever," before an orchestra joined Raye to close the performance with a cover of Adele's "Skyfall."

Tribute to Quincy Jones

Mick Jagger popped by to present the prize for best original song, which went to "El Mal," the track off "Emilia Perez" written by Clement Ducol, Camille and the film's director Jacques Audiard.

"We wrote 'El Mal' as a song to denounce corruption," Camille said onstage. "We hope it speaks to the role music and art can play, and continue to play, as a force of the good and progress in the world."

Before presenting the award, Jagger joked that "the producers really wanted Bob Dylan to do this -- Bob didn't want to do it because he said the best songs this year were obviously in "A Complete Unknown" -- the film about Dylan.

"Bob said, 'You should find somebody younger,'" the Rolling Stone frontman quipped.

Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg presented a tribute to the late Quincy Jones, the composing titan who orchestrated the sounds of the music and film worlds for more than 50 years.

"Quincy was love lived out loud in human form, and he poured that love out into others and into his work," Winfrey said.

Latifah then brought disco to the Academy Awards with a performance of "Ease on Down the Road" -- yet another nod to the world of Oz -- from the musical film adaptation of "The Wiz," which Jones worked on.

Host Conan O'Brien added in his own song and dance after his opening monologue, poking fun at the show's reputation for trudging along at a glacial pace.

"I Won't Waste Time!" he sang.

The show ultimately clocked in at nearly four hours.