Tems Is Bringing Bops To 'Children Of Blood And Bone'
Tems Is Bringing Bops To The ‘Children Of Blood And Bone’ Soundtrack
- Tems is the first woman to executive produce a major film soundtrack, for 'Children of Blood and Bone'.
- The film explores themes of cultural identity, family legacy, and personal power through a Black fantasy world.
- The soundtrack features new music from Tems and other acclaimed artists, curated to capture the film's magical essence.
Tems is bringing bops to Children of Blood and Bone. She served as the Executive Music Producer for the soundtrack of the fantasy adaptation from Gina Prince-Bythewood.
The director revealed the news at a July 27 screening for the film’s trailer at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Gina Prince-Bythewood sat in conversation with her former assistant, Emmy Award-winning writer and producer Lena Waithe. The pair discussed how music is central to Prince-Bythewood’s creative process.
The Grammy Award-winning musician was one of the director’s core inspirations during the writing process. “There were about twenty songs, but there were two songs that were on repeat, and the first one was ‘Try Me’ by Tems,” she told the audience. They responded with claps and yelps.
That song earned Tems a slot in the highly anticipated production. “I want Tems to curate our soundtrack,” Prince-Bythewood recalled telling executives. “I want her to EP.”
The trailer featured music from Tems, Beyoncé, and more. It shows clips of Zelie, played by Thuso Mbedu, fighting to reclaim the magic of the Orïsha people after it was stolen.
Women Rarely Get To EP Huge Film Projects
Tems’ involvement in the big-budget project is monumental. “She’s actually the first woman to executive produce a soundtrack at this level,” Prince-Bythewood continued.
Burna Boy, who inspired the director with his track “Alone,” served as a music consultant on the project.
“We’ve got three new Tems tracks,” Prince-Bythewood said proudly. “We’ve got Fireboy, we’ve got Benson, we’ve got Arya. The soundtrack is so amazing, and I’m so proud of Tems, who again had never done it before and put together something extraordinary.”
She asserted that the soundtrack has “no skips whatsoever.”
Children of Blood and Bone is based on the fantasy novel by Tomi Adeyemi. Adeyemi penned a trilogy of stories set in the fictional land of Orïsha, which is inspired by actual spiritual traditions. Prince-Bythewood took the time to shout out the other creatives who helped her create the fantasy land. She included production designer Hannah Beachler, costume designer Charlese Antoinette Jones, and head of hair design Andrea Mona Bowman.
This Fantasy World Features Black Queens and Kings
The film stars Mbedu, Tosin Cole, Lashana Lynch, Zackary Momoh, Damson Idris, Amandla Stenberg, Academy Award-nominee Cynthia Erivo, Academy Award-Winners Viola Davis and Regina King, and Idris Elba. The actors explore cultural identity, family legacy, personal power and more on screen.
Their representation feels like its own type of fantasy to Black children who are told they can’t cosplay authentically because of the color of their skin.
King, Lynch, Mbedu, Cole and Momoh joined Waithe and Prince-Bythewood on stage to discuss their experiences filming and the impact they believe the film will have. Lynch expressed a belief that the film is a metaphor for “the magic we’ve had since the beginning of time for us.”
She pointed out that like the fictional people in the film, people across the diaspora have faced attempts to have their magic “stripped away” and “tarnished” by those who refuse to see their fullness.
Related: Welcome To Orïsha! BTS Visuals From ‘Children of Blood And Bone’ Are Here
“This story is a reminder that it’s always been there. It’s still in there, and that we don’t even need to try hard to access it. The magic isn’t rooted in fantasy, it’s rooted in us,” she said. “So I’m grateful to the film.”
Her castmates nodded as she spoke.
“What you guys are about to see is something we’ve never seen before, and we all are a part of that. We all got to hold hands and be a part of that,” said King.
“My belief is there’s going to be storytelling on film that was before Children of Blood and Bone and after.”
Children of Blood and Bone will premiere on January 15, 2027.
Tems Is Bringing Bops To The ‘Children Of Blood And Bone’ Soundtrack was originally published on hellobeautiful.com
