![]() That trend also reverberated in the region, with Lebo M recently featuring in Symphony of Three: Peace, Love, Tolerance, an orchestral work commissioned and produced by the Abu Dhabi Festival. “Teaming up with Hans changed that and now Hollywood started respecting and investing in producing quality soundtracks that represent the African content." Feeling free in Abu Dhabi ![]() "I come from a strong and rich heritage but African music never really got the respect it deserves because the quality and standards were not there. "We found a marriage of African authenticity and this Eurocentric concept of sound which is about music being recorded in the highest quality in terms of how it's written, produced and packaged," he says. While Zimmer is a master of production, it was Lebo M’s understanding of African rhythms that made their collaboration a success. I try to bring the emotion from the perspective of different characters in different movies and this is really what makes these works so special." “The common theme to what Hans does is emotion and the work I do with him is similar to an actor. I worked on a number of songs with him for the film,” Lebo M says. “Hans was kind enough to ask me for some ideas for the film and we just hit it off in the studio straight away. We did many more takes, of course, but the first one sounded so authentic.” A form of actingĪs instinctual as that performance was, it is also the labour of a studied hand.īorn in a poor township of Soweto in Johannesburg, Lebo M (full name Lebohang Morake) began performing in night clubs from the age of nine before receiving a US government-funded scholarship for the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington.Įventually moving to Los Angeles, his career break arrived when he landed a job as a studio assistant to Hilton Rosenthal, music supervisor for The Power of One, who introduced him to Zimmer. “What you hear in the film is what I did the first time in the demo track. “The lyrics are very metaphorical and have the South African languages Zulu and Xhosa. They explained the scene to me and I looked at Hans and said turn on the mic and I just sung that chant. "I remember I was about to leave the studio when I saw the clip of Simba taken on top of Pride Rock. "It was a period in my life where I was returned to South Africa from a life in exile and everything about that movie - thematically, lyrically, emotionally and spiritually - I could relate to," he says. ![]() ![]() With The Lion King released only two months after South Africa's discriminatory apartheid political system was abolished and Nelson Mandela appointed the first black president, Lebo M describes the turbulent period as inspiring his performances for the film. Speaking to The National, Lebo M, 58, says the song captures a moment when the artist and his home nation were in transition. The song appears in the powerful scene in which young cub Simba is presented to the pride on top of Pride Rock, a mountain overlooking a lush South African savannah. However, it is the Circle of Life eliciting the biggest reaction and that he feels proudest of. ![]()
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