‘Genius: MLK / X’: How Score and Songs Illuminate the Work of 1960s Civil Rights Leaders
variety.comJon Burlingame “I felt not only that it was important, but that I had an obligation to be a part of it,” says composer Terence Blanchard about writing the score for National Geographic’s “Genius: MLK / X,” the eight-part series about the lives of Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. “Growing up in New Orleans, being a serious believer in the teachings of Martin Luther King, and then learning about Malcolm X, I understand how important it is for young people to know this history,” says the two-time Oscar nominee (“Da 5 Bloods,” “BlacKkKlansman”) and multiple Grammy winner.
Music supervisor Amani (Burt Blackarach) Smith agrees. “Learning about Malcolm X and Martin Luther King when I was in high school and college completely shaped and changed how I started to approach life.
But there were so many things, so many nuances, that I didn’t know. And if I didn’t know, then the public has no idea about a lot of these things.” For Blanchard, the challenge was finding the right sound for each leader, “to create this delineation between the two camps from an early part of their lives, yet the power of their convictions is similar at certain points.
Read more on variety.com