“Judas and the Black Messiah”: Revolutionary Down to the Tunes
Illustration of Rahsaan Roland Kirk by Aminata Diop | The Corsair
Newly released on HBO Max’s Black History Month lineup, “Judas and the Black Messiah” is based on actual events surrounding 17-year-old petty car thief William O’Neal. After posing as an FBI agent in an attempt to steal a car, he was given the option to face years in prison or go undercover. His assignment was to grow a close relationship with Black Panther Party Chairman, Fred Hampton.
The moving and intense plot is backed by a niche set of songs that make up its original motion picture soundtrack (not to be confused with “Judas and the Black Messiah: The Inspired Album,” which is a separate music project inspired by the film). This film’s music features jazz artists that veer off from the mainstream, creating a distinctive sound enforced by artists like Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Outlaw Blues Band, Duke Ellington, and more.
Although corporate Hollywood typically focuses on the financial aspect of movie soundtracks and what will sell, director Shaka King had specific tracks in mind to create a particular feel and atmosphere for “Judas and the Black Messiah.”
Music editor Marvin Morris worked closely with King to build the musical landscape of the film. “Shaka [King] has a wide range of music that he loves,” said Morris. “He wanted to add more acoustic and natural sounding instruments to the score and the music… Not only because of the time period, but because of the feel he wanted for the movie.”
Jazz is an uncommon choice for music in many contemporary films. “In the history of film when it comes to jazz music, a lot of times it doesn’t work, but a couple of these songs had a more driving feel to them, meaning it would push the scene,” said Morris. “Here’s the thing about jazz, I shouldn’t say it doesn’t always work. It always depends on the picture. And there’s been a lot of shows where they want jazz in there, but the problem with the audience, the newer audience, [is] they kind of want to be told where to go with things. A lot of times they’re not familiar with the old jazz artists, and so you can put things in there to make it sound cool, but a lot of times the audience will go ‘well wait a minute, what is that?’ Then they’re kinda taken out of the picture.” said Morris. “In the last maybe 10 years of films, you haven’t seen any jazz scores that carried a film through, which is too bad because, I mean, I love it.”
The main reason for choosing particular songs in a scene is to elicit feeling and draw into the mood, according to Morris — aiding its movement, without distracting or pulling the audience out of the scene. “Like with the Duke Ellington song, [Fluerette Africaine, with Charles Mingus and Max Roach] that song, just because of the bass and the driving piano in it, it kind of pushes the scene forward,” said Morris. “There’s not a lot of dialogue you have to pay attention to, it’s the song that’s pushing the scene.”
“The main theme, actually, for O’Neal, is the Rahsaan Roland Kirk. So every time you see O’Neal in a bad situation, you hear the Rahsaan Roland Kirk theme on him,” said Morris. Throughout the film, the sounds of revolutionary musician Kirk, followed the tangled character arc of William O’Neal. Kirk was known for his eccentric music skills, including playing three saxophones at once, something that is nearly impossible to replicate in feeling.
KCRW Jazz Radio Program Host LeRoy Downs carries a heavy background in the world of jazz from all generations. Downs concurred that the music used in “Judas and the Black Messiah” creates a response to the visual aspects of the plot. “As soon as I heard [the song] ‘Inflated Tear’ I jumped...Rahsaan Roland Kirk is really pretty extraordinary… It just made me realize, woah, somebody is on top of it to play this music at this time because the music gave a sense of fear, sense of awareness, and tension.”
The historical context of the musicians also gives reason to why it supports the film’s overall message. “Jazz is really always a reflection of the times,” said Downs. “You have musicians that write their music with the feelings of society and social things that are going on, and injustices that Black people have to incur. There’s different ways of protesting or sending a message. They’re not always verbal, and a lot of times those feelings are inside the music. A lot of the music that was used in ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’ was from these artists who are experiencing some of these things...They give back to society to try to teach a lesson or to have people of all colors and cultures just feel.”
