MIKE WILL MADE-IT TO EXECUTIVE PRODUCE
METRO GOLDWYN MAYER PICTURES AND WARNER BROS PICTURES’ ‘CREED II’ SOUNDTRACK
Grammy Award winning record producer and songwriter Mike WiLL Made-It has been set to executive produce the original motion picture soundtrack forCreed II, the continuation of the Rocky saga and the sequel to the critically acclaimed and crowd-pleasing 2015 hit Creed, which took in more than $170 million at the worldwide box office. Mike WiLL, the founder of Ear Drummer Records, is the mastermind behind such massive hits as Beyoncé’s “Formation” and Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy Award-winning “Humble,” and Rae Sremmurd’s “Black Beatles,” which spent seven weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The album will feature music from and inspired by the film. Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures (MGM) and Warner Bros. Pictures’ Creed II is directed by Steven Caple Jr. and stars Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone reprising their roles of Adonis Creed and Rocky Balboa respectively. Mike WiLL will collaborate with Caple Jr., Jordan, Creed II composer Lugwig Göransson and music supervisors Fam Rothstein and Jen Malone directly for the soundtrack.
“I’ve always been a fan of Mike WiLL's production,” said Jordan. “I knew we were in store for something crazy and refreshing when we brought him in to curate the Creed II soundtrack.”
“There was a time where movie soundtracks had people just as excited as an artist’s album, and that’s the feeling I was going for when creating this project alongside Ludwig Göransson and Fam Rothstein. After people hear the music, I want them to say movie soundtracks are back,” said executive producer Mike WiLL Made-It. “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. 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. I’m excited for people to check out the music for Creed II.”
Also reprising their roles from the first film are Tessa Thompson as Bianca, Phylicia Rashad as Mary Anne, Wood Harris as Tony “Little Duke” Burton, and Andre Ward as Danny “Stuntman” Wheeler. The new cast is rounded out with Florian “Big Nasty” Munteanu as Viktor Drago, Dolph Lundgren returning to the role of Ivan Drago, and Russell Hornsby as Buddy Marcelle.
Caple Jr. directs from an original screenplay co-written by Stallone and Juel Taylor based on characters from the Rocky franchise. The film is produced by Irwin Winkler, Charles Winkler, William Chartoff, David Winkler, Kevin King-Templeton and Stallone. Ryan Coogler, Jordan and Guy Riedel are executive producers. Creed II will be distributed theatrically in the U.S. by MGM on November 21, 2018, and Warner Bros. Pictures will distribute the film internationally.
SYNOPSIS:
Life has become a balancing act for Adonis Creed. Between personal obligations and training for his next big fight, he is up against the challenge of his life. Facing an opponent with ties to his family’s past only intensifies his impending battle in the ring. Rocky Balboa is there by his side through it all and, together, Rocky and Adonis will confront their shared legacy, question what’s worth fighting for, and discover that nothing’s more important than family. Creed II is about going back to basics to rediscover what made you a champion in the first place, and remembering that, no matter where you go, you can’t escape your history.
ABOUT MIKE WILL MADE-IT
Mastermind behind hits such as Beyoncé’s “Formation” and Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy-winning “Humble”, Mike Will Made-It, or Mike Will, is widely known for producing beats for several Southern hip hop artists and others beyond the genre.
Born in 1989 in Marietta in Atlanta, Georgia as Michael Len Williams II, the record producer came from a highly musical background with both his parents having dabbled in music—his father as a 70s club DJ and his mother as backup for gospel singer Dottie Peoples before going into corporate jobs. Including a pair of supportive and musically-inclined parents, were Dr. Dre, Timbaland, and Pharrell as major influences in Mike Will’s early musical career and ambitions.
Freestyling from a young age, Mike Will began to develop his own beats at age 14 and, two years later, began to shop these beats at local Atlanta radio stations. It was here that Gucci Mane became Mike Will’s first client and bestowed on him his name “Mike WiLL Made-It”. Soon after, several other major hip hop artists followed including Future, 2 Chainz, and Juicy J. In 2006, given all the fervor around Mike Will’s production, Ear Drummers Entertainment was set up and in 2013, Mike’s label and production company, Ear Drummer Records, was established with several rising artists signed to it, such as Rae Sremmurd, whose first album went platinum.
With a total of 6 mix tapes released and major contributions to artists such as Jay-Z and Pharrell—including produced platinum-certified singles for Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, and Beyoncé—Mike Will has become an iconic cultural heavyweight in hip-hop, pop, and beyond. An artist in his own right andthe producer known for making hits after hits, Mike Will continues to pay homage to his roots with elements of Southern trap still recognizable in most of his production work. Mike Will has, definitely, “made it” and the next hit on the radio will, undoubtedly, result in many acknowledging that Mike Will made it and continues to make it, whether “it” is a trap single, a pop track or the next revolutionary anthem.
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