‘The whole movie was
a personal journey’
© 2019 DISNEY, GALLO IMAGES/GETTY IMAGESB
ACK in the 1980s he moved
to Los Angeles to pursue a
music career and was intro-
duced to Hans Zimmer
while the revered German
soundtrack composer was
working on music for SA-set film The
Power of One. The two made magic to-
gether and when the composer started
working on The Lion King he knew who
to call. The Disney film tells the story of
Simba, a young lion who must embrace
his role as the rightful king following
the murder of his father at the hands of
his evil uncle, Scar, and Zimmer roped in
the young musician to make sure the
soundtrack had some authentic African
flair. Since then Lebo has been closely
involved in the film and stage produc-
tions of the much-loved tale.
“For someone like me, it’s a progres-
sion,” he says. “I went from a movie in
1994 to being one of the first two or three
people to work on a Broadway produc-
tion with [American theatre director]
Julie Taymor.
“When we started talking about a live
action animation of the movie two years
ago it was a progression of how I was
going to approach the music for the
film as opposed to the music that had
been in the Broadway adaptations.”
He poured himself into 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
direction 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 gotten 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
record 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 would
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 choicewordsforyoung musicians.
“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. To illustrate his point, he tells us
how he came to co-write Spirit with Be-
yoncé. 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 gqom 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
arranged songs for
the movie, but the
song was on her
standalone 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 had known each
other for ages.”
Like the movie that’s been the back-
drop to his life, his rags-to-riches life
story is nothing short of riveting. Now
Lebo is penning his autobiography,
which he plans to publish before the
end of the year.
We’re sure it’ll be a roaring success.Hollywood
A-listers and
British royalty
attended
the London
premiere of
The Lion King.
Lebo shared
the spotlight
with superstars
Elton John,
Beyoncé
and Pharrell
Williams.Lebo with fiancée Mel Ntsala and his daughter
Letti’Anle at the premiere of The Lion King at
the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
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