For Kirk Franklin, being a part of “We Win,” the first single for the soundtrack to “Space Jam: A New Legacy” is “really, really, really humbling.” The Gospel icon is the owner of 16 Grammys and more than a dozen RIAA plaques for his two decades in the music industry. But being able to work on the soundtrack to the sequel of the 1996 pop culture phenomenon was special.
“This could have easily been a bigger, well-known household name that deserved the opportunity, that has earned the opportunity, that could have easily killed the opportunity,” Franklin said in a phone conversation with The Times, “and to be blessed to even be a part of something like this, these moments don’t come every day for somebody that comes where I come from. I just pray that I can bring [something] inspirational and some hope into the conversation.”
He was brought to the project by Evan Lamberg, president of Universal Music Publishing. Franklin heard the beat by Grammy Award-winning producer Just Blaze that the team was struggling to bring to fruition. He asked for the stems of the track so that he could put his own touch in between the drum loops typical of hip-hop production.
