16 Times Rap and R&B Stars Curated or Executive Produced 21st Century Movie Soundtracks

Metro Boomin curated the soundtrack for 2023’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. During his 2023 Billboard cover story, Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group president of music Spring Aspers said it “was just pure luck in terms of timing” that Republic Records had just finished working on Metro’s Heroes & Villains album campaign and decided he was its “ideal partner.” He co-produced 10 tracks on the project, which features Offset, Don Toliver, A$AP Rocky, Nav, 21 Savage and more big-name artists. Its deluxe version included six additional tracks, from artists including Becky G, Ayra Starr, Shenseea, Myke Towers and Omah Lay.

Metro Boomin Presents Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Soundtrack from and Inspired by the Motion Picture) reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and topped Soundtracks and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. It was nominated for soundtrack album at the 2023 Hollywood Music in Media Awards, top soundtrack at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards and outstanding soundtrack at the 2024 Black Reel Awards. The project’s standout track “Am I Dreaming” with Rocky and Roisee (who earned her first Hot 100 entry with the song) was nominated for song – animated film at the 2023 Hollywood Music in Media Awards and outstanding original song at the 2024 Black Reel Awards.

J. Cole and his Dreamville label executive produced the soundtrack for 2023’s Creed III. Dreamville artists Cole, J.I.D, Ari Lennox, Bas, EarthGang, Cozz, Omen and Lute contribute several songs to the project, which also features Big Sean, Blxst, Kehlani, Buddy, Mereba, Syd and more.

Creed III: The Soundtrack reached No. 127 on the Billboard 200. It was nominated for soundtrack album at the 2023 Hollywood Music in Media Awards, outstanding soundtrack at the 2024 Black Reel Awards, and outstanding soundtrack/compilation album at the 2024 NAACP Image Awards, while Dreamville, Bas, Black Sherif and Kel-P were up for outstanding duo, group or collaboration (traditional) for “Blood, Sweat & Tears.”

Cardi B served as one of the executive producers of the soundtrack for 2021’s Bruised, alongside the film’s director Halle Berry. “When I thought of what would be the voice that would be the pinnacle of what this soundtrack could be, of course I thought of the queen. Who wouldn’t want to have a Cardi B song and have her voice and have her talents on their debut? Like, duh,” Berry said in their joint Billboard News interview in 2021.

The pair hand-selected the all-female lineup of featured hip-hop artists, including Saweetie, City Girls, H.E.R., Flo Milli and Latto. Cardi also contributed an original song to Bruised (Soundtrack from and Inspired by the Netflix Film), titled “Bet It.” The project’s standout track, “Automatic Woman” by H.E.R., won outstanding original song at the 2022 Black Reel Awards.

Jay-Z executive produced the soundtrack for 2021’s The Harder They Fall alongside Jeymes Samuel. “I wrote all of the songs for the movie, and even though I go to different areas of the globe, I experienced the whole diaspora of what I call Africa, from the Caribbean to America to Mali. Every single song is woven in the film with the purpose of it being one complete thought,” Samuel said during Netflix Presents: Playlist in 2021. “It’s all about the story of the movie. Every song and every melody services the story of the movie, just so we can have a soundtrack that we watch and have a movie that we listen to, like we used to do when we were kids.” Jay-Z performed two tracks and tapped Ms. Lauryn Hill, Koffee, Kid Cudi, Seal, Jadakiss, Conway The Machine and more for contributions throughout the project.

The Harder They Fall (The Motion Picture Soundtrack) reached No. 11 on Billboard‘s Soundtracks chart. It won outstanding soundtrack/compilation album at the 2022 NAACP Image Awards and standout track “Guns Go Bang” by Kid Cudi and Jay-Z was nominated for best song at the 2022 Critics’ Choice Awards and outstanding original song at the 2022 Black Reel Awards, while “The Harder They Fall” by Koffee was also up for the latter accolade. Hov, Samuel and Kid Cudi also won best music at the 2022 African American Film Critics Association Awards and were nominated for song – feature film at the 2021 Hollywood Music in Media Awards.

Hit-Boy served as one of the executive producers of the soundtrack for 2021’s Judas and the Black Messiah, alongside award-winning filmmaker Ryan Coogler, Geffen Records president of urban A&R Aaron “Dash” Sherrod, and Def Jam Recordings executive vp/chief creative officer Archie Davis. “A lot of these artists were becoming informed about Fred Hampton and the Black Panther movement — like Polo G, who took a few weeks to study Fred Hampton because he said he wanted to do something meaningful, or Pooh Shiesty who, in the middle of his album rollout, wanted to be a part of this, and got a clip of Fred Hampton at the beginning of his track,” Sherrod told Billboard in 2021. “Every artist that was on the project contributed something meaningful, and fought to be on it.” The trio taps Smino, BJ the Chicago Kid, Rapsody, Lil Durk, Nardo Wick, G Herbo, Dom Kennedy and more throughout the project — which also includes an unprecedented collaboration between Jay-Z and Nipsey Hussle, titled “What It Feels Like”.

Judas and the Black Messiah: The Inspired Album reached No. 12 on the Billboard 200 and topped the Soundtracks chart. It was nominated for outstanding soundtrack/compilation album at the 2022 NAACP Image Awards. The project’s standout track, “Fight For You” by H.E.R. won best original song at the 2021 Academy Awards and best traditional R&B performance at the 2022 Grammys, and it earned nods for best original song at the 2021 Golden Globe Awards, best song at the 2021 Critics’ Choice Awards and outstanding original song at the 2021 Black Reel Awards.

Beyoncé curated the soundtrack for 2019’s The Lion King. “This is sonic cinema,” she said in a 2019 press release. “This is a new experience of storytelling. I wanted to do more than find a collection of songs that were inspired by the film. It is a mixture of genres and collaboration that isn’t one sound. It is influenced by everything from R&B, pop, hip hop and Afro Beat.” Beyoncé performed 10 tracks and tapped African and American artists like Mr. Eazi, Yemi Alade, Tiwa Savage, Burna Boy, Childish Gambino, Nija, Tierra Whack, 070 Shake and more throughout the project.

The Lion King: The Gift reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and topped the Soundtracks, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, World Albums and Kid Albums charts. It was nominated for best pop vocal album at the 2020 Grammys and won outstanding soundtrack/compilation album at the 2020 NAACP Image Awards. The project’s standout track “Brown Skin Girl” by Beyoncé, Blue Ivy Carter, SAINt JHN and Wizkid won best music video at the 2021 Grammy Awards; the Ashford & Simpsons Songwriter’s award at the 2019 Soul Train Music Awards; the BET HER award at the 2020 BET Awards; outstanding duo, group or collaboration at the 2020 NAACP Image Awards; video of the year at the 2020 Soul Train Music Awards; outstanding music video/visual album at the 2021 NAACP Image Awards; and best cinematography at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards.

“Spirit,” another highlight from the soundtrack, won outstanding song – traditional at the 2020 NAACP Image Awards and was nominated for best original song in a feature film at the 2019 Hollywood Music in Media Awards; video of the year and best dance performance at the 2019 Soul Train Music Awards; outstanding original song at the 2020 Black Reel Awards; best song at the 2020 Critics’ Choice Awards; best original song at the 2020 Golden Globe Awards; and best pop solo performance and best song written for visual media at the 2020 Grammy Awards.

Mike WiLL Made-It executive produced the soundtrack for 2018’s Creed II. “I approached the music by first watching Creed II and then creating a playlist of songs people could work out to, chill to, vibe to or to get them through any struggle which matched specific scenes in the movie,” he said in a 2018 press statement (obtained by Variety). “It’s important to show the new generation that soundtracks can be just as exciting as traditional albums if put in the hands of the right curator. After people hear the music, I want them to say movie soundtracks are back.” He co-produced 12 tracks on the project, which features ScHoolboy Q, 2 Chainz, Rick Ross, Rae Sremmurd, A$AP Ferg, Nicki Minaj and more.

Creed II: The Album reached No. 49 on the Billboard 200, No. 4 on Top Soundtracks and No. 23 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

Future curated the soundtrack for Director X‘s 2018 remake of Superfly, which he also co-produced, while Curtis Mayfield helmed the iconic soundtrack for the original 1972 Blaxpoitation film, which included the soul smashes “Freddie’s Dead” and the title theme. “What we quickly understood was that Future would bring the hip-hop aesthetic and the street cred to this movie,” Russell Emanuel, CEO/president of Bleeding Fingers Custom Music Shop, Hans Zimmer’s custom scoring company where the film’s composer Josh Atchley works, told Variety in 2018. “So our role was to help the storytelling while being respectful to the genre.” Future performed 11 tracks and enlisted Sleepy Brown, PartyNextDoor, Young Thug, Khalid, Lil Wayne and more throughout the project.

Superfly (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) reached No. 25 on the Billboard 200, No. 3 on Top Soundtracks and No. 13 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

Kendrick Lamar curated the soundtrack for 2018’s Black Panther. “I am honored to be working with such an incredible artist whose work has been so inspirational, and whose artistic themes align with those we explore in the film,” the film’s director Ryan Coogler said in a press release in 2018. Dot performed six tracks and tapped artists like SZA, Jay Rock, Swae Lee, Vince Staples, Jorja Smith, Anderson .Paak, Travis Scott, The Weeknd and more throughout the project.

Black Panther: The Album topped the Billboard 200, Top Soundtracks and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. It was nominated for album of the year at the 2019 Grammy Awards and top soundtrack at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards, and it won favorite soundtrack at the 2018 American Music Awards and soundtrack album at the 2018 Hollywood Music in Media Awards.

The project’s standout hit “All The Stars” with SZA reached the top 10 of the Hot 100 (No. 7), Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (No. 5) and Rhythmic Airplay (No. 3). It was also up for song of the year, record of the year, best song written for visual media and best rap/sung performance at the 2019 Grammy Awards, while “King’s Dead” with Lamar, Jay Rock, Future and James Blake won best rap performance and was nominated for best rap song. “All The Stars” won best visual effects at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards; best original song: sci-fi/fantasy/horror film at the 2018 Hollywood Music in Media Awards; outstanding original song at the 2019 Black Reel Awards; and outstanding duo, group or collaboration at the 2019 NAACP Image Awards. It also earned best original song nods at the 2019 Golden Globe Awards and Academy Awards as well as a best song nod at the 2019 Critics’ Choice Awards.

“Pray For Me” with The Weeknd, another highlight from the soundtrack, topped Rhythmic Airplay and also reached the top 10 of the Hot 100 (No. 7), Dance/Mix Show Airplay (No. 4), Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (No. 4) and Pop Airplay (No. 3). It was also nominated for outstanding original song at the 2019 Black Reel Awards.

Eminem executive produced the soundtrack for 2015’s Southpaw. “We have been involved in developing Southpaw since its inception, and Eminem has dedicated himself to ensuring that this film captured his passion for the project through his music,” said Paul Rosenberg, co-founder/former president of Shady Records (which distributed the soundtrack) and Eminem’s manager, in a 2015 press release. “We’ve assembled a great soundtrack to accompany what’s sure to be one of the finest boxing films ever.” Slim Shady performs two tracks and taps Gwen Stefani, Action Bronson, Joey Bada$$, 50 Cent, Logic and more throughout the project.

Southpaw (Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture) reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200, No. 1 on Soundtracks and No. 2 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

Pharrell Williams curated the soundtrack for 2015’s Dope, which he also executive produced. “It was exhilarating to sit there in the studio with Pharrell as he composed this music. I’d tell him about [Dope‘s main character] Malcolm and then he’d disappear to his magic lair, or wherever he goes, and then he’d have a song about it and it’d be amazing,” Dope director and screenwriter Rick Famuyiwa told Entertainment Weekly in 2015. “I think he was key in helping me figure out who these kids are in this world.”

Pharrell contributed four original songs under “Awreeoh,” the fictional hip-hop/punk band in the film portrayed by its leads: Tony Revolori, Kiersey Clemons and Shameik Moore. Dope: Music from the Motion Picture also includes hits by hip-hop heavyweights Nas, Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest and Naughty by Nature.

Mary J. Blige helmed the soundtrack for 2014’s Think Like a Man Too. The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul performs all 14 songs and only taps two guests on the entire project: The-Dream on “Vegas Nights” and Pharrell on “See That Boy Again.” The opening track is Blige’s cover of Shalamar’s 1982 hit “A Night to Remember.”

Think Like a Man Too (Music from and Inspired by the Film) reached No. 30 on the Billboard 200, No. 3 on Soundtracks and No. 6 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

Jay-Z executive produced the soundtrack for 2013’s The Great Gatsby. “The question for me in approaching Gatsby was how to elicit from our audience the same level of excitement and pop cultural immediacy toward the world that Fitzgerald did for his audience?” Luhrmann said in a 2013 press statement (obtained by Rolling Stone) at the time. “And in our age, the energy of jazz is caught in the energy of hip-hop.”

Jay-Z performed two tracks, and he and the film’s director/co-writer and soundtrack producer Baz Luhrmann brought in will.i.am, Florence + The Machine, The xx, Sia and more for the rest of the project. There are also a handful of star-studded covers on the soundtrack, including Beyoncé and André 3000‘s cover of Amy Winehouse‘s 2007 hit “Back to Black,” Emeli Sandé and The Bryan Ferry Orchestra’s cover of Beyoncé’s 2003 Hot 100 No. 1 smash “Crazy in Love” (originally featuring Hov himself) and Jack White‘s cover of U2‘s 1991 track “Love Is Blindness.”

The Great Gatsby: Music from Baz Luhrmann’s Film reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and topped Soundtracks, Top Alternative Albums and Top Rock Albums. Its deluxe edition was nominated for best compilation soundtrack for visual media at the 2014 Grammy Awards, where the project’s standout track, “Young And Beautiful” by Lana Del Rey, was nominated for best song written for visual media. It also earned a best song nod at the 2014 Critics’ Choice Movie Awards. The soundtrack was also up for favorite soundtrack at the 2013 American Music Awards.

RZA served as one of the executive producers of the soundtrack for 2003’s Kill Bill: Volume 1, alongside the film’s director and writer Quentin Tarantino and Lawrence Bender. “There was one situation where you see, ‘Crane/White Lightning,’ that’s part of the original score, so it’s not really a song. A lot of that stuff is what I use to keep the vibe going between songs. ‘Crane/White Lightning’ is a piece of music that he [Quentin Tarantino] wanted on the soundtrack, but was originally set for a Metallica track,” RZA said in a 2003 interview, according to WuForever.com. “I don’t know what happened, but I was in the editing room and Quentin told me to focus on this. He couldn’t get what he wanted, whatever the reason was, and wanted me to come with this piece of music.” RZA performed four tracks and tapped taps Isaac Hayes, Quincy Jones, Nancy Sinatra, Charlie Feathers, Vincent Tempera & Orchestra and more throughout the project.

Kill Bill Vol. 1 Original Soundtrack reached No. 45 on the Billboard 200 and topped the Soundtracks chart. It was nominated for best compilation soundtrack album for a motion picture, television or other visual media at the 2004 Grammy Awards.

Eminem executive produced the soundtrack for 2002’s 8 Mile. “The 8 Mile soundtrack was different because it forced me to step into Rabbit, the character I play in the film, and write from his point of view,” he said in a 2002 press statement (obtained by Billboard). “It was a challenge. Also, the project afforded me the opportunity to not only make an album with a wishlist of some of my favorite artists, but to showcase what we have coming on Shady Records.” Eminem performed four tracks and enlisted 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Gang Starr, Xzibit, Macy Gray, Obie Trice and more throughout the project.

8 Mile: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture topped the Billboard 200, Top Soundtracks and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. It was nominated for outstanding original soundtrack at the 2003 Black Reel Awards. The project’s standout track “Lose Yourself” became Eminem’s first Hot 100 No. 1 hit and also topped Pop Airplay and Rhythmic Airplay. It also won best song at the 2003 Critics’ Choice Awards; best original song at the 2003 Academy Awards; best video from a film at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards; and best rap song and best male rap solo performance at the 2004 Grammy Awards. It also earned a best original song nod at the 2003 Golden Globe Awards.

Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men executive produced the soundtrack for 2000’s Seventeen Again (starring Tia, Tamera and Tahj Mowry), which he also executive produced alongside his wife Sharonda Jones. Stockman performed six tracks, while Carla Helmbrecht and The Joel Evans Quartet, Gordon Brisker, George Roumanis and more are also featured throughout the project.

The Seventeen Again soundtrack is not currently available on DSPs, but fans have been clamoring for it online.