GENIUS: MLK/X ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK OUT NOW
“GENIUS: MLK/X" premieres February 1 on National Geographic, streams next day on Disney+ and Hulu
(February 2nd, 2024 – Burbank, CA) Hollywood Records announced today the release of the GENIUS: MLK/X Original Soundtrack EP, featuring all original songs written specifically for the show. The songs are an integral part of telling the story of the geniuses and icons, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X via an eclectic mix of Soul, R&B, Hip Hop, and Folk music. Stream on Amazon Music, Apple Music and Spotify.
Two episodes of “GENIUS: MLK/X” will premiere weekly beginning Feb. 1 on National Geographic at 9/8c and will stream the next day on both Disney+ and Hulu. The first episode of the new season, “Graduation,” will simulcast on ABC Feb. 1 at 9/8c.
About “GENIUS: MLK/X”
In a first for the franchise, the new season of the Emmy® Award-winning anthology series will focus on two iconic geniuses: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) and Malcolm X (Aaron Pierre). GENIUS: MLK/X will explore the formative years, where they were molded by strong fathers and traumatic injustices, and their rich, parallel stories as they shaped their identities and became the change they wished to see in the world. The docu-drama series offers an intimate look into their complex lives as husbands, fathers, brothers and sons, taking them off the iconic T-shirts to show their humanity. With their formidable wives, Coretta Scott King (Weruche Opia) and Betty Shabazz (Jayme Lawson), leading by their sides, King and X are two visionaries who ultimately rose to pioneer a movement.
This season is once again produced by 20th Television with Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Television, as well as the company’s president of Television, Kristen Zolner, along with the award-winning duo Reggie Rock Bythewood (“Swagger,” “Shots Fired”) and Gina Prince-Bythewood (“The Woman King,” “Shots Fired”), who are responsible for groundbreaking films and series under their production company Undisputed Cinema. Raphael Jackson Jr. and Damione Macedon (“Power,” “Mosquito Coast”) are showrunners and executive producers.
The ensemble cast includes Kelvin Harrison Jr. (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”) as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Aaron Pierre (“The Underground Railroad”) as Malcolm X, Weruche Opia (“I May Destroy You”) as Coretta Scott King, and Jayme Lawson (“The Batman”) as Betty Shabazz. The series also marks one of the last roles for Emmy-winning actor Ron Cephas Jones (“This is Us”).
About Jacob Banks:
Banks is a Nigerian-born English singer and songwriter who resides in Birmingham. Banks won the 2012 MOBO UnSung regional competition in Birmingham and the Adidas “Are You In” music competition. His music in influenced by a range of genres, including Soul, R&B and Hip Hop.
About Fallon King, Felisha King Harvey and Harv:
Fallon King and her twin sister Felisha King Harvey are American Artists, Singers and Songwriters who are five-times Platinum. Along with their two sisters, they formed the R&B group Cherish in 2001. The twins wrote over 30 songs during the last two seasons of Fox’s hit TV Show “Empire” and recently co-wrote Usher’s verse on Justin Bieber’s “Peaches” remix. Bernard “HARV” Harvey is a six-time Grammy® Award-nominated American Music Producer, Composer, Songwriter, and Multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles, CA. He has produced highly acclaimed work for major recording artists such as Justin Bieber, Sevyn Streeter, Omah Lay, Skrillex, Normani, Gucci Mane and Ryan Tedder.
About Rhiannon Giddens:
Rhiannon Giddens has made a singular, iconic career out of stretching her brand of Folk music, with its miles-deep historical roots and contemporary sensibilities, into just about every field imaginable. A two-time GRAMMY® Award and Pulitzer® Prize-winning singer and instrumentalist, MacArthur “Genius” grant recipient, and composer of opera, ballet, and film, Giddens has centered her work around the mission of lifting up people whose contributions to American musical history have previously been overlooked or erased, and advocating for a more accurate understanding of the country’s musical origins through art.
About Aloe Blacc:
Blacc is a multiple Brit Award and Grammy® Award nominated Singer, Songwriter and Rapper. Raised on Salsa, Merengue and Cumbia, Blacc fell in love with Hip Hop as a kid and started writing Rap songs when he was nine. He later developed a fierce admiration for Soul musicians and an affinity for Folk-rock Singer/Songwriters. Blacc notably uses his music for social change and stays focused on making music meant to inspire a positive shift in society’s mindset.
