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Lebo M
Lebo M
Biographical information
Born

July 11, 1964

Birthplace

Johannesburg, South Africa

Career information
Years

1994 - Present

Website

www.lebom.com

Work
When Disney approached me to compose the soundtrack for The Lion King, I knew exactly who I wanted to work with and just about had to send out search parties into the African bush to find Lebo. He is the movie.
Hans Zimmer

Lebohang "Lebo M" Morake (born July 11, 1964) is a South African composer who is famous for arranging and performing music for The Lion King film series and stage productions. He also contributed to Rhythm of the Pride Lands and The Lion King II: Simba's Pride.

Biography[]

Morake was born on May 20, 1964 in Apartheid-ridden Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa. At age nine, Morake left school, and began his career by performing in nightclubs.[1] There, he was inspired by the songs of the diamond mine workers and Zulu music, and aspired to be an entertainer.[1] At the age of 13, he was the youngest nightclub performer at the top club, The Pelican, and was approached by a music producer in the audience, who invited him to record a single.

In 1978, he left their home for Lesotho, where he and his best friend, Vernon, entertained tourists at the Victoria Hotel. They remained there in exile, until they met U.S. Ambassador Tim Thahane, who recognized their talent and drive.[1] Thahane arranged for Lebo and Vernon to take admission exams at the Duke Ellington School of Music in Washington, D.C.[1] They passed the exams, and attended Duke Ellington for three years, before setting off to continue their studies at the New Metropolitan School of Arts in New York.[1] While attending school, they performed in a band, and had several gigs at nightclubs, where upon an acquaintance's suggestion, Morake left for Los Angeles in 1983 to fulfill his musical dreams.

At 18 years old, Morake began begging on downtown street corners until he landed his first job at McDonald's, and enrolled in Los Angeles City College.[1] While attending classes, Lebo worked parking cars, washing dishes, tending a hot dog stand, and cleaning church floors. After meeting bassist Del Atkins, Morake returned to Africa to perform in the musical, Buwa, only to return to Los Angeles to assemble an African choir for the Academy Awards' "Cry Freedom" nomination where it received a standing ovation.[1] From there, Morake went on to write, arrange, and conduct music for the film, The Power of One, where he met composer, Hans Zimmer.

While performing in South Africa in the musical, Sarafina!, Morake received a call from Zimmer to come work with him on The Lion King in Los Angeles.[1] In 1992, he was later hired to form and conduct the African choir that sang for the movie. His voice is the first voice heard in the film, in which he is singing the now-famous "Nants Ingonyama" chant (often considered synonymous with the film's image in popular culture) over the opening sequence.

Having composed additional music for The Lion King, Morake was approached by an executive to create the soundtrack, Rhythm of the Pride Lands. Having heard the soundtrack, Julie Taymor brought Morake to work on The Lion King stage musical productions where he received a Tony nomination.[2] Also, he founded the Lebo M Foundation and Till Dawn Entertainment.

Songs[]

Other movies[]

  • Dinosaur
  • Tarzan II

External links[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Biography of Lebo M.
  2. Barnett, Errol (January 16, 2013). Roaring success of 'Lion King' musician. CNN.
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