“Just reading the script became very personal to me,” he recalled. The film’s story instantly struck a poignant chord within him. It was through that work that he met Zimmer, just as the composer began work on the first “Lion King” film in 1992. But then a life-changing opportunity to assemble an African choir for a performance at the Academy Awards would lead to subsequent film soundtrack work. He found work doing menial jobs and was sometimes homeless. He left South Africa in 1979 at age 16 for the United States, eventually studying music. “Thankfully, my future was defined by a destiny I had no control of: music.” “ whether you’re rich or poor, whether you are oppressed or not, your destiny is defined by the decisions you make, that may be yours or other people may implant on you,” he said. It was just a highly emotional, nonstop energy.”īorn Lebohang Morake in Soweto, Johannesburg, Lebo M was a musical prodigy without formal training who ultimately became an exile due to the oppressive Apartheid regime, a system he says “sought to make you constantly less than human being.” “What makes it special is how it evolved from the very first proper sessions. “If I reflect on it properly, I don’t think that any of the people I was working with said or felt we were making an iconic, global, long-lasting hit project,” he tells CNN. The original recording of his voice again serves as the signature kick-off in the new film debuting Friday.
#Circle of life singer full#
The South African vocalist’s inimitable Zulu cry serves as the starting point for “Circle of Life,” the now-iconic Elton John-Tim Rice song at the beginning of Disney’s 1994 animated film “The Lion King.” And now, with the fresh take on film set to hit theaters, the singer says he feels he’s come full circle.īrought aboard the original film by composer Hans Zimmer to provide an authentic African flavor to the choruses, chants and compositions, Lebo M has been a constant as the franchise flourished, including contributions to a companion soundtrack, the Broadway musical score, the direct-to-video sequel, live concert performances and, most recently, filmmaker Jon Favreau’s photorealistic computer-animated remake. Even if you don’t know singer Lebo M by name, you’ve likely known his voice for the last quarter-century.
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