Lebo M, the voice of 'The Lion King' returns for a Disney prequel

The Manila Times

Lebo M, the voice of 'The Lion King' returns for a Disney prequel  From poverty in apartheid-era South Africa to Hollywood, Lebo M became the voice of Disney's "The Lion King" with his unforgettable Zulu cry "Nants' Ingonyama.”Now, 30 years after his vocals made the opening sequence of that film one of the most memorable in movie history, the South African singer, producer and composer is back with another opener for the prequel "Mufasa: The Lion King.”  AFP VIDEO  Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe   Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net   Follow us:  Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook  Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram  Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter  DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion   Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital   Check out our Podcasts:  Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify  Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts  Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic  Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer  Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein  #TheManilaTimes #worldnews  #disney  #thelionking

Transcript

00:00Yeah, I've retired from Nancy Ngonyama. As of last night, we're in a new mode, Mufasa, Gomso,

00:08but live in concert somewhere in Europe next year, LLM Live. We'll probably get two for the

00:14price of one. Not today. Many years ago, I knew and hoped one day I'll work with Lin Manel, so

00:21that was it. Then last, the idea that it's a prequel was more fascinating, and until I got

00:29inside the movie, it doesn't feel like I've been doing Lion King. It's a whole different story,

00:36and creatively allowing for new ideas and new inspiration. I loved writing the first

00:43opening, which is, I call it a blessing and a curse, which Lion King has been for me for many

00:49years a blessing and a curse, but this became a lot more that, because having to write and perform

00:56a new opening for Lion King after 30 years of Nancy Ngonyama on Broadway, on stages,

01:04it's quite a big challenge, and it's a bit scary. I'm born in Soweto, South Africa. I'm born in the

01:09darkest period. You know, when you're born into something, you don't know that there's something

01:15else. I didn't realize very distinctively until I left South Africa. I went to exile at age 16,

01:241979, so my career starts in South Africa. I'm a youth club kid. When you're born in South Africa,

01:33in Soweto, at that time you had a choice of being a gangster, a soccer player, or the nerd. Being

01:39born into extreme poverty, that was neither here nor there for me. I had music. I had the power of

01:47being able to visualize the chance of what the future looks like for me through the arts,

01:55so yes, it was difficult. It was extremely difficult. I didn't have a good sense of racism,

02:02quite frankly, because I was born into a very separated and divided environment. I didn't

02:07honestly know what racism is until I got to America, quite frankly. One had to take a risk,

02:13such as Disney, to invest in a property like The Lion King, the movie itself. It took an American

02:20genius mind to do that. Not that there's not been African stories that deserve investment,

02:26but the truth is, Disney Animation some, what, 30 years ago, took a huge investment and

02:33invested quality money on an African product, African content, and you can't take that away.

02:40I'm also conscious, much more than commercial viability and commercial success,

02:46is what impact is my doing a first concert in Africa going to do for the rest of the industry,

02:55but industry as in not only the creative aspect, because we have the talent,

03:00what kind of investment is going to take to deliver the type of quality product that I

03:07hope will inspire the next generation of concert promoters, concert producers,

03:12from the smallest to the biggest. So we are very quality conscious.

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