Like the predecessor, Coming 2 America had musical moments to tackle universal themes using the soundtrack combined with the film score.[1] One of the first ideas, the director Craig Brewer pitched to Murphy was the "Gett Off" sequence which Brewer considered it to be his favorites; the song evolved during the dance sequence within Murphy's family. Randy Spendlove, president of music distribution and publishing at Paramount Pictures, helped Brewer to secure rights of the song from Prince's music catalog, as the song had to be recorded prior to shooting.[2][3]
The musical catalogue consisted of an assortment of artists which led Spendlove collaborating with Def Jam Recordings to publish the film's soundtrack. Some of the musical numbers, such as "Whatta King" (performed by En Vogue and Salt-N-Pepa) and "Midnight Train to Zamunda" (performed by Gladys Knight) were pitched during the production. The latter is a take on Knight's own 1973 single "Midnight Train to Georgia". Brewer stated that "We got wind that she might be available and we discussed what we could do with her, and that was it" and eventually sang "Zamunda" instead of "Georgia" to connect with the film's story.[4]
Brewer and Spendlove heard that Megan Thee Stallion was interested in contributing to the soundtrack, while the former wanted the song to be used in a film and shot additional scenes with KiKi Layne (who plays Meeka) for the original song "I'm a King", Stallion's inclusion was to personify Meeka's feelings.[4]
Marketing and release
The soundtrack was announced on February 4, 2021,[5] with "I'm a King" being the first to be released as a single, the following day.[6][7] The song was performed and produced by Bobby Sessions and Stallion.[8][9] The second single "Go Big" was released on February 26.[10] The full soundtrack was released on March 5, alongside the film.[11][12]
Coming 2 America (Amazon Original Motion Picture Score) is the score album featuring 32 tracks from the film score composed by Jermaine Stegall, that spans for 50 minutes.[15] Stegall composed the score on sets during the film's production that continued for seven months.[16] He brought in a full orchestra, percussion and layered his melody on top of the cues, while also adding the Yoruba words, "kaabo si Ile-Ile" (transl. welcome to the motherland) as a tip hat to West African audiences.[15]
The score album was released by Def Jam Recordings on April 16, 2021.[17]
