Netflix’s The Get Down is the newest Netflix show which started streaming on the service today. It’s set in New York in 1977, when the city was at the brink of bankruptcy and chronicles the rise of hip-hop and the last days of disco – told through the lives, music, art and dance of the people living in South Bronx. The show has been produced by Baz Luhrmann and a team of collaborators including four-time Oscar® winner and fellow executive producer Catherine Martin, legendary MC and executive producer Nas, associate producer Grandmaster Flash, and Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, co-creator and executive producer Stephen Adly Guirgis.
Just like everything that Baz Luhrmann has produced, reaction to the show has been divisive. Some love it, while others thinks it’s full of style and no substance. We’ve watched the first 2 episodes and consider ourselves fans. While it’s true that it can get too cliched at times and that some of the story lines seem like unnecessary filler, it’s also true that that it’s fun, full of great cinematography and has some fantastic music. How could a music-driven show about the birth of hip-hop set in the late 1970s not have great music?
Of course, there’s a soundtrack for The Get Down and it was released by Sony Music Entertainment via iTunes and Apple Music today. If you want the physical CD, you’ll have to wait until September 23rd. The soundtrack has been executive produced by Luhrmann and Nas and features music by the show’s cast as well as tracks by Nas, Miguel, Christina Aguilera, Zayn, Michael Kiwanuka, Leon Bridges, Jaden Smith, Raury and more. Also involved ais Grammy Award-winning producers/songwriters Malay and Emile Haynie, Elliott Wheeler, Grandmaster Flash and Nile Rodgers.
We’ve had a listen through the deluxe version and love the soundtrack. It’s full of disco, funk and old school hip-hop and is whole lot of fun. Here’s a rundown of the track list, which will definitely get you in the mood to get down.