Voice of ‘The Lion King’ returns for Disney prequel

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. “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. 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.