Lebo M.

Lebo M is one of those artists whose voice you have heard even if you do not know his name. That wordless opening chant of The Lion King is his, and it carries the weight of a whole continent. What impresses me is not just the Grammy, but the way Hans Zimmer trusted him to assemble and conduct an African choir that gave the score its soul. He did not decorate the music with authenticity; he was the authenticity. For a Johannesburg kid to shape one of the most recognizable sounds in global cinema is, to me, a quietly monumental achievement.

Name (English)

Lebo M.

Name (Japanese)

レボ・M

Reading

れぼ・M

Born

July 11, 1964 (age 62)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Cancer / Dragon

Origin

Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

Occupation

composer / singer / singer-songwriter / lyricist / film score composer

Awards & achievements

• 1995 Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals
• South African Music Awards

• Official sitehttps://lebom.com/index.html
• Xhttps://x.com/iamlebo_m
• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebo%20M
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q109045

Tags

• Gauteng
• composer
• singer
• singer-songwriter

Last updated

2026-06-21

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.