EXCLUSIVE: Adrian Younge Talks Scoring Netflix’s ‘Luke Cage’ With Ali Shaheed Muhammad

THE NEW MARVEL SERIES HAS HIT YOUR DEVICES

(AllHipHop News) The latest edition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe arrived this week in the form of the Netflix series Luke Cage.

The show’s creator, Cheo Hodari Coker, made a strong effort to connect Luke Cage with Hip Hop culture.

Each episode of the superhero story shares the name of songs by the East Coast rap duo Gang Starr (ex: “Who’s Gonna Take The Weight?” and “DWYCK”).

Coker also tapped Hip Hop producers Adrian Younge (Ghostface Killah, Souls Of Mischief) and Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest, D’Angelo) to score Luke Cage.

The tunes associated with the show have been described as having a “90s Hip Hop vibe,” but Younge tells AllHipHop.com that viewers should not expect the soundscape to only feature rap music.

“Luke Cage is a Hip Hop head. But, as you know, being part of Hip Hop culture doesn’t mean you just listen to Hip Hop music.” says Younge. “You also listen and understand the source material that created Hip Hop like the breaks, Jazz, and Funk – all the stuff that helped spawn the notion of Hip Hop.”

He continues, “So the music that we make encapsulates all of that – Hip Hop, the source material, and a combination of these genres – in order to make something new for Luke Cage. It’s basically all of that.”

Younge and Muhammad worked with a 30-piece orchestra conducted by notable Los Angeles musician Miguel Atwood-Ferguson.

“It’s basically if you can imagine the filthiest beat with a full orchestra on top of it. Look at it like that. That’s the kind of stuff we’re allowed to do,” explains Younge.

ArtDontSleep will present music from the show at the Marvel’s Luke Cage: The Live Score event taking place at L.A’s The Theatre at Ace Hotel on October 6.

The following day, Marvel’s Luke Cage Original Soundtrack Album will be available at digital retailers and streaming services.

In addition, Younge recently released his own The Electronique Void: Black Noise album.

The multi-instrumentalist is also working with Ali Shaheed Muhammad for a joint project titled The Midnight Hour set to land in early 2017.

Marvel’s Luke Cage is available for streaming on Netflix.