Top 3 Black Film/TV Scores You Should Know
Film scores have always been the backbone to film and TV. The push and pulls of an orchestra define every scene and tell the audience exactly how to feel. Film scores created by Black composers or for Black film/TV are no different. The scores demand something different, unique, and untouched in the industry of film score composition.
Here are three Black film/TV scores that you should know.
1. If Beale Street Could Talk - Nicholas Britell
Top Picks:
Agape
Eden (Harlem)
Phillia
Perhaps Hans Zimmer’s potential successor, Nicholas Britell is an acclaimed American composer that has composed for the hits Succession (2018-2023), Don’t Look Up (2021), and Cruella (2021). He is a composer favorite for director Barry Jenkins, as they collaborated on both Moonlight (2016) and If Beale Street Could Talk (2018). If Beale Street Could Talk is a film adaptation of the 1974 James Baldwin’s novel that follows the love story of a young Black couple in Harlem, New York. The hum of film consists of a subtle piano, a background of strings, and wind pipes. Britell confidently allows the essence of blues and jazz to infiltrate the composition revealing an uncommon, but ever so impeccable, genre pair. Perhaps his most notable piece on the score, Agape, leaves the feeling of young love and nostalgia. While the piano and strings take a backseat, the wind instruments take full control and echo the sounds of chirping birds, further contributing to an emotionally nostalgic experience. Britell’s ability to create the illusion that the audience are in the streets of Harlem on a summer day, watching the organic sounds of blues fall beneath their feet with each step, is both enchanting and brilliant.
2. Bridgerton - Kris Bowers
Top Picks:
We Could Form An Attachment
A Feeling I’ve Never Been
Strange
Kris Bowers, a young, Black composer, has acquired his fair share of accolades over the years. From composing the score for both seasons of Bridgerton, a riveting show created by Shonda Rhimes, as well as the spin-off series Queen Charlotte, a Bridgerton Story, he has made his mark as a composer. It is no surprise that Shonda Rhimes’ intention behind Bridgerton was to include diversity in a seamless wayKris Bowers understood this assignment and not only hand crafted new classical scores that mimicked the times of the periodic piece, he also became known for his covers of popular pop songs like Ariana Grande’s thank you, next, Hillary Smith’s Strange, Alicia Keys’ If I Ain’t Got You, and Taylor Swifts’ Wildest Dreams. Bowers was able to reimagine a world of classical music that includes black influence and pop culture in a way that had not been done before. If you haven’t already, make sure to give him his flowers.
3. Really Love - Khari Mateen
Top Picks:
Remember These Dates
Hang the Hart
The Paint Dries
Perhaps one of the most underrated Black films of 2020, Really Love is a contemporary film that follows the young love of a couple in Georgetown, Washington DC. The score is composed by Khari Mateen, who is well versed in the music industry not only for his musical composition but for his production for many R&B artists in the early 90’s. Despite his versatility in music, this score is relatively simple, primarily consisting of piano, strings, and minor influences from the trumpet and percussion. Nonetheless, the simplicity of the chords throughout the composition swarm the audience with a feeling of warmth, nostalgia, and the feeling of being young and in love.