Reservoir Media has acquired the rights to the catalogue of composer Lebohang Morake, professionally known as Lebo M. Morake is best known for his work on The Lion King franchise.
Hailing from South Africa, Lebo M is a composer, arranger, co-producer and performer. He first broke through in Hollywood for his collaboration with Hans Zimmer (whose film compositions Reservoir also has an interest in) on the soundtrack for the 1992 film The Power of One.
Zimmer subsequently recruited Lebo M for the soundtrack of Disney’s 1994 animated film The Lion King. Morake wrote and performed the opening of Circle Of Life, among others. That song earned him a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement with Accompanying Vocals, with The Lion King soundtrack also taking home an Academy Award for Best Original Score.
Building on the original film soundtrack’s success, he contributed to an additional one-off soundtrack, Rhythm Of The Pride Lands, as well as the soundtrack for the film’s sequel, The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride, and the 2019 photorealistic remake of The Lion King.
Furthermore, in April of this year, it was announced that Morake will be joining Lin-Manuel Miranda in composing music for Mufasa: The Lion King, released later this month.
Several years after its release, The Lion King was transformed into a stage musical, with compositions by Morake and Zimmer, as well as Elton John, Julie Taymor and more. The musical took home the Tony Award for Best Musical and also received a nomination for Best Original Score.
The musical has since become the highest-grossing Broadway production ever, as well as one of the longest-running Broadway productions, having reached over 100 million people with audiences across the globe.
Lebo’s music has moved generations of film lovers
Golnar Khosrowshahi
In addition to The Lion King franchise, Morake has also contributed to various other films, such as Dinosaur, Back on the Block, The Life of Quincy Jones, Congo, Long Night's Journey into Day, Tears of the Sun, The Legend of Tarzan and The Woman King.
Morake co-produced The Lion King South Africa in 2007, served as the composer and co-executive producer for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and founded organisations including the Lebo M Foundation and Till Dawn Entertainment in South Africa.
On the deal with Reservoir, Lebo M said: “I’m proud to join forces with Reservoir, a company that recognises the power of music to unite and inspire. This partnership will enable me to continue pushing the boundaries of creativity and sharing my music with new generations.”
Golnar Khosrowshahi, Reservoir founder and chief executive officer, said: “Lebo’s music has moved generations of film lovers, with his contributions to The Lion King, in particular, shaping some of film’s most beloved music. We are so proud to bring in rights to his influential catalogue, reinforcing Reservoir’s interest in successful and culturally defining film scores, and we look forward to working with Lebo in the next phase of his career.”
PHOTO: (L-R) Donna Casseine (EVP Global Creative Director, Reservoir), Lebo M, Golnar Khosrowshahi (Founder & CEO , Reservoir), Sibo Mhlungo (Co-founder and Talent Manager, Independent Media Group Africa).
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