‘Thewholemoviewas
a personaljourney’
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ACKinthe1980shemovedto
LosAngelestopursuea music
careerandwasintroducedto
HansZimmerwhilethere-
veredGerman soundtrack
composerwasworking on
musicforSA-setfilmThePowerofOne.
Thetwomademagictogetherand
whenthecomposerstartedworkingon
TheLionKingheknewwhotocall.The
DisneyfilmtellsthestoryofSimba,
a younglionwhomustembracehisrole
astherightfulkingfollowingthemurder
ofhisfatheratthehandsofhiseviluncle,
Scar,andZimmerropedintheyoung
musiciantomakesurethesoundtrack
hadsomeauthenticAfricanflair.Since
thenLebohasbeencloselyinvolvedin
thefilmandstageproductionsofthe
much-lovedtale.
“Forsomeonelikeme,it’sa progres-
sion,”hesays.“Iwentfroma moviein
1994 tobeingoneofthefirsttwoorthree
peopletoworkona Broadwayproduc-
tionwith[Americantheatredirector]
JulieTaymor.
“Whenwestartedthetalksofa live-
actionanimationofthemovietwoyears
agoitwasa progressionofhowI was
going to approach the music for the film
as opposed to the music that had been
in the Broadway adaptations.”
He immersed himself in the remake.
“The whole movie was a personal jour-
ney. The life of Simba in exile, I’m familiar
with that and the character of Scar –
I was able to create a perception of whatthat character was in real life. To me it
represented the apartheid regime and all
its ugly manipulative ways.
“I saw the duality of Mufasa and Simba,
who becomes king, as the transition of
Nelson Mandela from a prisoner to be-
coming the first black president. So,
when you use all this representation and
character metaphors, it gives you direc-
tion to write music that best suits the
scene and characters.”
Lebo has put his stamp on The Lion
King. It’s authenticity that separates you
from your counterparts, he believes.
“This is something I spent a whole day
talking to John Kani about, specifically in
the creative sector,” he says.
“Knowing yourself has become more
important now than ever because the
world has got so
small. It’s great to
be a jazz or hip-hop
artist born in South
Africa, but it’s more
special to be a South African artist that
knows SA music and culture before you
are a jazz or hip-hop icon or artist.
“That identity ensures you bring some-
thing different to the table when you’re
in the presence of Diddy or Beyoncé.”H
E HAS a lot more to say on the
topic. “The new Beyoncé re-
cord features African and
South African artists. They’re
there because they bring
something different.
“I started listening to it recently and it
confirms what some of us have said to
young guys in South Africa: if you bring
something special to Beyoncé’s space
then you have a chance,” Lebo says.
“There are thousands, if not millions of
US artists and producers who’d like to
work with Beyoncé, but they don’t even
get the chance to say ‘hi’ because the
competition among them is bigger.”
TheGrammy-winning artist has a fewmore choicewordsforyoungmusicians.
“In South Africa we are misled about
what success is in this business and what
that does is mess with people’s minds –
it stifles people’s creativity because they
think they’ve made it.”
Having your own identity is key to
making it big in the music business, he
adds.Toillustratehispoint,hetellsus
howhecametoco-writeSpiritwith
Beyoncé. The song features on the film’s
soundtrack as well as on her new album,
The Lion King: The Gift. It showcases a
range of African artists, including South
African dance music stars Moonchild
Sanelly and Busiswa.
“I had already done my work for the
movie and was in South Africa when
talks for the song with Beyoncé started,”
Lebo recalls.
“I wrote and ar-
ranged songs forthe
movie,butthesong
wasonherstand-
alone record [too] so I had to add to it
and arrange it in a way that suited the
mood and storyline of the film.”
They recorded the song without ever
being in the same room.
“I received the song with what she had
originally wrote for it and I worked on it
in my own personal space. This is some-
thing I’ve come to appreciate with the
technology we now have.
“The first time I actually met Beyoncé
was at the London premiere,” Lebo says.
“We didn’t feel like strangers because we
knew each other through the work we’d
done, so conversation was casual. We
talked like we’d known each other for
a g e s .”
Like the movie that’s been the back-
drop to his life, his rags-to-riches life
story is nothing short of riveting. And
now Lebo is penning his autobiography,
which he plans to publish before the end
of the year.
We’re sure it will be roaring success. SHollywood
A-listers and
British royalty
attended the
London
premiere of
The Lion King.
Lebo shared the
spotlight with
(from left) Elton
John, Beyoncé
and Pharrell
Williams.Lebo with his fiancée Mel Ntsala and daughter
Letti’Anle at the premiere of The Lion King at
the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
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