Swizz Beatz On Creating The Soundscape Of ‘Godfather of Harlem’
Written by djfrosty on April 11, 2025
The popularity of the MGM+ series Godfather of Harlem is undeniable, highlighted by the music under the purview of the iconic Hip-Hop producer and artist, Swizz Beatz which includes its compelling theme song, “Just In Case” featuring Swizz along with Rick Ross and the late DMX. As the show returns for its fourth season, viewers will be heavily tuned in to see the next chapter in the story of famed crime boss Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson, played by Academy Award-winner Forest Whitaker.
Seeing Johnson fight the mafia for control of his beloved Harlem takes on new dimensions in the wake of the assassination of his friend Malcolm X, and the presence of an up-and-coming underworld figure in Frank Lucas (played by Emmy Award-winner Rome Flynn). HipHopWired had the opportunity to talk with Swizz Beatz before the premiere of the new season to get his perspective on crafting the tone of the show.
HipHopWired: We’re days away from the premiere of this fourth season. What’s the anticipation been like, for you and everyone else involved for the viewers to see the season play out?
Swizz Beatz: Man, well, there’s been a lot of anxiety, because people were like, “When is it happening? When is it happening? When is it happening?” And when they see the announcement, people start hitting me up, and they’re like, “Okay, finally, is this going to happen?” Is that going to happen?” But, I don’t watch the show until it comes out. So I love to keep it a surprise, because imagine, you spend all this time doing work on the show. By the time the show comes out, you’ve seen everything. It’s not really a celebration, you know? It’s kind of like spoiling your own party, right? So I do my little clips. I get small scenes and things like that, but I don’t know where they go or how they’re pieced up. And then I score the music around that, and I make the songs around that. And so we had a small premiere here in New York the other day, and it was the opening scene. I had never seen it before. I was like, “Wow. Okay. That’s how they pieced that up.” So it’s been amazing.
“Seeing DMX and Forest Whitaker in the studio together as big fans of each other was pretty awesome.”
HipHopWired: That leads me to my next question. For the process of creating the soundscape, because if there’s anything that stands out for Godfather of Harlem, it’s your music. I’m curious as to the process that you undergo in creating whatever you have for the scenes. How do you go about it?
Swizz Beatz: I have an open door policy at the studio, where we have the writers, directors, songwriters, you know, everybody’s invited that’s involved. A lot of the characters in the show pop up, and it’s good to just feel everybody’s energy and just let everybody feel at home. And then at that same time, I have artists coming in. Some known, some unknown.
But what I do different now is I kind of make it like, my voice is the voice that’s in Bumpy Johnson’s head. So, when you hear my vocals, I’m saying what Bumpy Johnson’s probably thinking at that moment. And then I have B singing vocals from Teddy Sinclair. That’s the vocals for Stella [Gigante], right? And then this other person, that’s the voice for that. So I tried to make the records be the voices in a different character’s head and what they’re thinking and what they’re going through at those particular times, rather than just making songs and just placing them and sending them in. Sometimes I keep the mic on while I’m watching the scene and score the scene with my voice to the actual scene, just so you can really feel how that’s going down. Like the single that’s coming out with me, Jadakiss, and Pusha T called “Danger, Danger.” When you see “Danger, Danger” in the show, you’re gonna know it’s “Danger, danger.” (laughs)
HipHopWired: Comparing the work you’ve done in the past seasons to the music you’ve put together for this season, do you like to have a distinct tonal change reflecting the story for each season?
Swizz Beatz: We’re putting out the record of the soundtrack for the season, for the first time. Before, we were just doing it as one song for each episode. But I felt like it was getting lost in the sauce. And so we said, “You know what? Let’s put it as a body of work. “Swizz Beatz Presents Godfather of Harlem, Season Four,” as a body of work for season four. And I think we’re going to do it going forward. But you know, having that particular mood and that sound…because Godfather does have a sound. When I go back and look at the other season, I wasn’t really thinking of a sound overall. At that point, I was just thinking of and doing the tasks at hand. But now when I go back, it’s a moody sound, we were able to get darker and explore more, because I’m not looking to make a smash hit. I’m looking to make the show a smash hit. So it’s a whole different dynamic that I’m able to play with. Rather than somebody paying me to be in the studio to make a smash hit so they could go on tour and do different things, Godfather is so that we can make the show a smash hit. So it’s two different frequencies, and Godfather is way more freedom.
HipHopWired: What’s been among your top experiences working on Godfather of Harlem, just off the top of your head?
Swizz Beatz: Seeing DMX and Forest Whitaker in the studio together as big fans of each other was pretty awesome, you know, they both went into their little shell of respect. But wow. I’m looking at [DMX], he’s like, giddy as a kid when Forest walks in. Then I’m seeing Forest do the same thing, and I’m just in the middle, just looking at this whole excellence of celebration unfold in front of me, and…that was a major moment. We may have got that on camera as well. That was one of my major moments. Right then, I was like, “Okay, sh*tt is real.” (laughs)