Big beats. Bigger beat downs. Check out the music behind the series. #LukeCage pic.twitter.com/dT2rl0XDgS
— Luke Cage (@LukeCage) August 31, 2016
Luke Cage will undoubtedly be the greatest television show in the history of all things ever on television.* That includes those delightful Life Cereal commercials, Lil’ Kim at the ’99 VMAs, and that very special episode of Saved By The Bell. Is it because of the cast, the source material, or the setting? None of the above. It’s because of the music. The latest addition to the Luke Cage hype train is a featurette all about the music embedded in the show’s DNA.
“Street Level Hero: The Music” boasts appearances by Method Man, A$AP Ferg–who looks older than Meth somehow–, star Mike Colter, showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker, Adrian Younge, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad. Younge and Muhammad are your composers for the 13 hours of unadulterated dopeness and according to Younge, they had one goal in mind.
“From a musical perspective, Ali and I look at this as we’re creating 13 albums. There’s 13 episodes, like 13 albums.”
He had me at “from.”
The sheer joy that washes over Meth’s face when Coker explains to him the show’s Gang Starr connection is only dwarfed by the euphoria he displays when Coker shows him a fight scene scored–and punctuated–to Wu Tang’s “Bring Da Ruckus.”
“Come on and bring the ruckus and I’ll provoke brothers to kick buckets’ and he kicks somebody across the damn room! You can’t buy that right there. That’s dope,” said Method Man.
While hip-hop is clearly a driving influence, with Younge citing Wu Tang and A Tribe Called Quest specifically, he and Muhammad also drew from the legendary Ennio Morricone. If you haven’t heard a Morricone score…first off, do you not like happiness? After answering that question, sample some of his work from The Thing, The Man With No Name trilogy, The Untouchables, or The Hateful Eight. If that’s the type of vibe they’re going for, the score for this show will need to be released on vinyl immediately.
“We all came together and said we wanted to make something great. Not just for black people or minorities. Just something great that just happens to be based on our culture.”
Well said, Mr. Younge. Take my money now.
Luke Cage punches you in the face September 30 on Netflix.
* — I’m clearly exaggerating. Clearly nothing will ever top that Lil’ Kim moment.
