Lebo M, emblematic English voice of “Lion King”, returns for “Mufasa”

Thirty years ago, his inimitable voice in the opening sequence of the Disney film The Lion King moved audiences around the world. Today, singer Lebo M returns in the prequel Mufasa: The Lion King, which he approached as a “challenge”.

The Zulu song Nants’ Ingonyama, which launches the song The Story of Life at the beginning of the cartoon released in 1994, made this South African singer, producer and composer, born 60 years ago in the township of Soweto, known .

And after the enormous impact left by The Lion King, Lebo M says he felt the pressure of having to do as well as he did thirty years ago. “I enjoyed writing the opening sequence of the first film (…) but writing and singing a new sequence thirty years later was really a challenge,” he said in an interview from London, where a preview was held this week.

For Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the music for the new Disney opus, which is scheduled for worldwide release between December 18 and 20, his contribution was indispensable.

“It was my dream. I insisted as soon as I arrived on the project because I think it is the secret touch” of the film, he declared on the sidelines of another preview, in Los Angeles.

Lebo M “is the sound of The Lion King, and his choral arrangements added to the songs I wrote really make this movie feel like it’s connected to the original (cartoon),” he said. he added.

Despite the pressure, the process was relatively quick, says Lebo M: he arrived at the studio early in the morning, started playing “with cymbals and a bongo (…) and at 11 a.m., when the director and all the people arrived, I had finished the song.

According to him, the success of the project is due to the “incredible energy” that emerged from his work with Lin-Manuel Miranda. “There was very little discussion about the strings, the melody. We just went for it and it all flowed. »

South African singer, producer and composer Lebo M, the inimitable voice in the opening sequence of the Disney film “The Lion King”. Photo Justin Tallis/AFP

Poverty and survival

Born in 1964, the singer, whose full name is Lebohang Morake, has become essential for directors wishing to bring an authentic African touch to their productions.

He produced and composed songs for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 FIFA World Cup held in South Africa, and continues a creative collaboration with film score composer Hans Zimmer, who he accompanies on his world tours.

But success was not immediate, and Lebo M fell on hard times, experiencing racism and being homeless for two years in Los Angeles in the mid-1980s.

Despite poverty, “I had music,” he says. At 14, he became the youngest singer in South African clubs.

Despite the success, Lebo M maintains the scars of his past on the street and claims to have “remained in “survival mode” all the time”.

According to him, the American entertainment industry, however, allowed him to “succeed more than he could have done elsewhere in the world”.

And after several decades of working relatively in the shadows, he now says he is ready to meet the public, with a first series of concerts scheduled for next April in South Africa.

“I know there is a certain expectation from people in the world who want to see Lebo M in concert, not just as a guest (of other artists) nor through films,” he said.

Helen ROWE/AFP