Homeless in Exile, Then Voice of The Lion King

Lebo M, whose full name is Lebohang Morake, is a South African musician. He left South Africa as a young musician during the apartheid era and lived in exile in the United States.

Sowetan reported in 2019 that at one stage he was down and out in the US, homeless and hustling for an opportunity to be heard. The newspaper described this as one of the most difficult times of his life. He did not give a date for this period or say how long it lasted.

Going home was not an option at that time. In his words, it was still apartheid and he was in exile. He said he could not take no for an answer. While others gave up or tried something else, he said, he worked harder and pushed himself to his limits.

That persistence led to a long career. The article lists collaborations with Hans Zimmer, Elton John, Pharrell Williams and, most recently, Beyoncé. He calls The Lion King his creation, and says seeing it come to life was the most satisfying part of his career, adding that nobody, not even Disney, knew it would be such a success. His proudest moment, he says, was bringing the theatre production of The Lion King to South Africa, where working with South Africans showed their talent to the world.