Swizz Beatz has returned as the executive music producer of MGM+’s Godfather of Harlem. For the fourth consecutive season, Swizz has been at the helm of the music that scores the series’ gripping storylines.
Since its 2019 premiere, Godfather of Harlem has blended fictional storylines with real events and figures from the transformative era of the 1960s in Harlem.
“It’s all just the soul,” he told Blavity’s Shadow and Act in a recent interview. “Music is all about what you feel. It’s kind of spiritual. Music is meant for you to feel right. When you hear something that’s from 2025, but it could have been in the ’60s, that’s because of the feeling and that inspiration.”
The meaning behind the music
This season picks up with the series’ main character, Bumpy Johnson (Forest Whitaker), fighting an internal battle to stay out of the criminal underworld and drug trade as he wants to build his life as a traditional businessman. The Black residents of Harlem are feeling the aftermath of Malcolm X’s assassination and learning new resistance rhetoric from the Black Panthers and other militant groups.
Swizz was able to replicate the high emotions of the era through the soundtrack.
“The show is an educational piece, more than anything, and that’s what I love about Godfather of Harlem,” he said.
He described how the power struggles between Bumpy, the Italian mafia families and residents of Harlem catalyzed the soundtrack’s “feel” and “emotion.”
“I knew it was the right track when I felt something, when I looked at it, and when I heard it at the same time. You can feel something in your chest. It was really organic flow with it,” Swizz said.
The energy and flow Swizz creates for the show are a testament to his talent. He said that he only receives 10- to 20-second clips of the scenes to make the accompanying tracks and that he waits, like everyone else, to see the final version of the series.
As a Virgo, he states he’s a “perfectionist” who would surpass any deadline because he would constantly want to tweak things to his liking.
Introducing Frank Lucas in Season 4
Season 4 also introduces Rome Flynn as drug kingpin Frank Lucas. He arrives in Harlem eager to carve out his own legacy and not afraid to challenge anyone who gets in his way, including Bumpy Johnson.
The custom theme Swizz created to mark the character’s debut intensified the meaning of his arrival.
“That’s a really strong moment that I had to fulfill. Because introducing Frank Lucas is serious. So I probably did that track over like 10 times to get it to the one that’s in the show now,” Swizz said.
The soundtrack is a nod to Swizz’s genius as a producer
Swizz was brought into the fold of the series through Whitaker, who was confident that his experiences growing up in New York would make him capable of painting the musical landscape of the series.
Along with the four seasons of Godfather of Harlem, Swizz has worked with show creator Chris Brancato on several projects, including the theme song to last year’s Hotel Cocaine, a series loosely based on the inner happenings of the epicenter of Miami’s drug trade, Hotel Mutiny.
Godfather of Harlem’s Season 4 soundtrack, released through Epic Records, features an eclectic lineup, including Pusha T, Jadakiss, Jay Electronica, Tobe Nwigwe, ScarLip, Conway the Machine and UK alt-pop band Cruel Youth. The 10-track album Godfather of Harlem: Season 4 (Original Series Soundtrack) is a compilation of music that amplifies the emotion and tension of the season.
The lead single, “Pain,” featuring Tobe Nwigwe and Sauce Walka, features a sample of DMX’s iconic “Ruff Ryders’ Anthem.” Also, a legendary Swizz production sets the tone for the season.
When asked if there was any difference between scoring music for Godfather of Harlem versus producing tracks for artists, Swizz replied, “When I’m making these tracks, looking at Bumpy Johnson and making the music, the voice in his head. The voices of all of the characters come alive through the music.”
Season 4 of Godfather of Harlem is now airing on MGM+.
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