Soundtrack for ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ revealed, including South African contributions [VIDEO]

Disney has released the tracklist for the upcoming Mufasa: The Lion King original motion picture soundtrack featuring South Africans Lebo M and Kagiso Lediga.

As Lebo M’s voice was the first to be heard in the original 1994 The Lion King, so it will be in the upcoming prequel of the film, Mufasa: The Lion King.

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Original ‘Lion King’ composer

“For the first time, the world will hear a new beginning of the movie, which I wrote and I wrote in Xhosa,” said Lebo M speaking in Cape Town.

The isiXhosa song in question is Ngomso which means tomorrow. It is the first track on the film’s soundtrack.  

Real name Lebohang Morake, Lebo M is the original composer from the Lion King movie. He is the only original composer that will be involved in the upcoming Mufasa film.

Elton John, Tim Rice and Hans Zimmer are the other three who created the original score of the 30-year-old film.

“For the first time, the world will hear a new beginning of the movie which I wrote in Xhosa and I wrote alone. I’m the only one coming back since 1994 to Mufasa as a composer. Now I’m teaming up with Lin-Manuel Miranda,” he said.

The other song on the project, set to be dropped on 13 December, which has a South African representative, is We Go Together where Lediga performs alongside Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Tiffany Boone and Preston Nyman.

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Lion King’s legacy

The songs, and the deluxe versions of the original picture soundtrack, will officially be available on 13 December.

The album was produced by Miranda, Mancina and Grammy Award winner and Walt Disney Music President Tom MacDougall. The score, which will be included in the deluxe version of the soundtrack, was composed by Tony Award winner and composer Dave Metzger.

The movie itself is expected to be released globally on 20 December.

“The Lion King has an incredible musical legacy with music from some the greatest songwriters around, and I’m humbled and proud to be a part of it,” said Miranda.

“It’s been a joy working alongside Barry Jenkins to bring Mufasa’s story to life, and we can’t wait for audiences to experience this film in theatres.”

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