South Central is Mecca — Score & Soundtrack Series

South Central is Mecca Scores

A Musical Narration

Some places don't just exist — they speak. South Central is Mecca is a musically narrated series that gives voice to the soul, struggle, and spirit of one of the most storied communities in America. Through original scores and curated soundtrack playlists, this series tells the story of South Central the way it deserves to be told — with depth, with rhythm, and with truth.

The Score

Each chapter of South Central is Mecca is accompanied by an original score composed to capture the emotional landscape of the story. From the quiet tension of early mornings to the electric energy of the streets at night, the music doesn't just accompany the narrative — it is the narrative.

The Soundtrack Playlists: A Living Archive of Black Music History

The playlists that accompany South Central is Mecca are far more than background music. They are a carefully curated journey through the history of Black American music — a tradition that didn't just shape South Central, but shaped the entire world.

Think of these two discs as a cohesive album — a wide-ranging, album-like musical experience featuring legends across every era, genre, and generation. From the blues and gospel that laid the foundation, to jazz, soul, funk, and hip-hop that built upon it, to the contemporary voices carrying it forward — this is a bridge between the old, the new, and the future. Every track was chosen with intention, every sequence tells a story, and together they form something greater than the sum of their parts.

From Muddy Waters to Marvin Gaye. From Curtis Mayfield to N.W.A. From Kendrick Lamar back to the spirituals that started it all. These playlists are a sonic education — a reminder that Black music is American music, and that its evolution is one of the greatest stories ever told.

Why It Matters

Music has always been the language of resistance, joy, grief, and transcendence in Black communities. To understand South Central is to understand the music that came from it — and to understand that music is to understand something essential about America itself. South Central is Mecca uses that music as a lens, a map, and a mirror.

🎵 Listen to Beautifully Dark on Apple Music

Beautifully Dark: Evolution of Black Music II

Side A: Be Real Black Fa Me [Fa Dear Life]

134 tracks spanning the full arc of Black American music — from the sacred to the street, the classic to the contemporary.

  1. Chocolate City — Parliament
  2. Going Down Slowly — The Pointer Sisters
  3. Fonky Thang, Diamond' Rang — The Dells
  4. Stop! In The Name Of Love — The Supremes
  5. You're All I Need To Make It — Johnson, Hawkins, Tatum & Durr
  6. Here We Go Again — Isley Brothers
  7. Rock 'N' Roll Gangster — Aalon
  8. The Windows of the World — Dionne Warwick
  9. Windows of the World — David T. Walker
  10. oHio — ScHoolboy Q & Freddie Gibbs
  11. Naima — John Coltrane
  12. Guess Who — Jesse Belvin
  13. You Send Me — Sam Cooke
  14. I'd Find You Anywhere — Creative Source
  15. By Your Side — Jadakiss
  16. Be Real Black For Me — Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway
  17. On My Block — Scarface
  18. Life — K-Ci & JoJo
  19. I Know I've Been Changed — Lashun Pace
  20. I'll Bet You — Funkadelic
  21. Boadicea — Enya
  22. Ready Or Not — The Fugees
  23. Ready Or Not (Here I Come) — The Delfonics
  24. Higher Ground — Stevie Wonder
  25. Keep On Movin' — Creative Source
  26. Chainey Do — Taj Mahal
  27. Chainey Do — The Pointer Sisters
  28. Want Ads — Honey Cone
  29. Call Me (Come Back Home) — Al Green
  30. How Love Hurts — The Sylvers
  31. Ain't No Mountain High — Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
  32. O-oh Child — The Five Stairsteps
  33. Hurry Up Tomorrow — The Nu-Rons
  34. Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) — Marvin Gaye (1971)
  35. Born Under A Bad Sign — Albert King
  36. Born Under a Bad Sign (Cover) — Jimi Hendrix
  37. The Thrill Is Gone — B.B. King
  38. Maybe God Is Tryin' To Tell You Somethin' — Quincy Jones
  39. Bridge Over Troubled Water — Aretha Franklin
  40. Heavy Load — The Mighty Cloud of Joy
  41. Feeling Good — Nina Simone
  42. New Day — Kanye West & Jay-Z
  43. Hereditary — Isaiah Rashad
  44. Papa Was A Rollin' Stone — The Temptations
  45. Rocket 88 — Ike Turner
  46. Pray For Me — The Mighty Cloud of Joy
  47. Proud Mary — Ike & Tina Turner
  48. Livin' For The City — Stevie Wonder
  49. Living for the City — Zapp
  50. (I Got) So Much Trouble In My Mind — Sir Joe Quarterman & Free Soul
  51. Lying On The Truth — The Rance Allen Group
  52. Look Ka Py-Py — The Meters
  53. The Payback — James Brown
  54. King Kunta — Kendrick Lamar
  55. God Make Me Funky — The Headhunters
  56. Holy Ghost — The Bar-Kays
  57. Nappy Dugout — Funkadelic
  58. Doin' It — Herbie Hancock
  59. Knucklehead — Grover Washington Jr. (1975)
  60. Played Like A Piano — King Tee & Ice Cube
  61. Lowrider — War (1975)
  62. Boyz N The Hood — Eazy-E & Ice Cube
  63. New Niggas — Richard Pryor
  64. War — Edwin Starr (1970)
  65. Nowhere to Run — Martha Reeves & The Vandellas (1965)
  66. Stomp Remix — Kirk Franklin (1997)
  67. Get Off Your Ass and Jam — Funkadelic
  68. Glitter & Gold — Camp Lo & Pete Rock
  69. I Heard It Through The Grapevine — Zapp
  70. Running Away — Roy Ayers (1977)
  71. Bad Luck — Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes ft. Teddy Pendergrass (1975)
  72. Spirit In The Dark — Aretha Franklin (1971)
  73. Shining Star — Earth, Wind & Fire (1975)
  74. Brother Gonna Work It Out — Willie Hutch
  75. Hang Up Your Hang Ups — Herbie Hancock
  76. Oh Happy Day — Edwin Hawkins & Shirley Miller
  77. Optimistic — Sounds of Blackness
  78. (Let Me Put) Love On Your Mind — Con Funk Shun
  79. You — Frankie Beverly & Maze
  80. Theme From The Planets — Dexter Wansel (1976)
  81. Riding High — Faze-O (1977)
  82. Until You Came Along — The Visitors (1968)
  83. Natural High — Bloodstone (1972)
  84. You're My Latest, My Greatest Inspiration — Teddy Pendergrass
  85. Strawberry Letter 23 — The Brothers Johnson
  86. Ain't Nothin' Like The Real Thing — Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
  87. Ain't No Woman (Like The One I've Got) — Four Tops
  88. Tell Everybody I Know — Keb' Mo'
  89. Wind Parade — Donald Byrd
  90. Waterfall — Weather Report (1971)
  91. Astral Traveling — Pharoah Sanders (1971)
  92. New World Symphony — Earth, Wind & Fire
  93. Can You Get To That — Funkadelic
  94. Have You Ever Been — Jimi Hendrix
  95. I Found My Smile Again — D'Angelo
  96. I Need You — Frankie Beverly & Maze
  97. Help (Somebody Please) — The O'Jays
  98. Hey Western Union Man — Jerry Butler
  99. A Fool In Love — Ike & Tina Turner
  100. (I Know) I'm Losing You — The Temptations
  101. I Forgot To Be Your Lover — William Bell
  102. Charlene — Anthony Hamilton
  103. Not Lookin' — Mary J. Blige & K-Ci
  104. Tyrone — Erykah Badu
  105. When A Woman's Fed Up — R. Kelly
  106. Shit, Damn, Motherfucker — D'Angelo
  107. Heard It All Before — Sunshine Anderson
  108. Midnight Hour — Zapp & Mighty Cloud of Joy
  109. Baby Come Back — Player
  110. I Miss You — Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes ft. Teddy Pendergrass
  111. This Can't Be Life — Jay-Z, Beanie Sigel & Scarface
  112. Only The Strong Survive — Jerry Butler
  113. So — War
  114. Diddy Bop — Noname
  115. Honey Wild — Con Funk Shun
  116. You Don't Miss Your Water — Otis Redding
  117. My Love — Ciara
  118. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood — Nina Simone
  119. Don't Get It — Lil Wayne
  120. Since I Seen't You — Anthony Hamilton
  121. Tears of Joy — Rick Ross & CeeLo Green
  122. Ooo Baby Baby — Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
  123. Neither One of Us (Want To Be The First to Say Goodbye) — Gladys Knight & The Pips
  124. No More Rain (In This Cloud) — Angie Stone
  125. Nothing Even Matters — Lauryn Hill & D'Angelo
  126. Let's Do It Again — The Staple Singers
  127. I Would Die 4 U — Prince & The Revolution
  128. Betray My Heart — D'Angelo & The Vanguard
  129. I'm Willing to Run All The Way — Glenn Jones
  130. Soul Food — Fabolous & Jadakiss

Bonus Tracks

  1. Never Be The Same — Ronnie Laws
  2. Love Put Me On The Corner — The Isley Brothers
  3. Spirit In The Sky — Dorothy Morrison
  4. Birdland — Weather Report

Side B: Rebels & Lost Souls [Rollin' & Found A Way Out]

128 tracks navigating the shadows and the light — the rebels, the lost, and those who found their way through.

  1. Chanson D'un Jour D'Hiver — Cortex (1976)
  2. Save Their Souls — Hamilton Bohannon
  3. Smiling Faces Sometimes — The Undisputed Truth
  4. Backstabbers — The O'Jays
  5. Wish I Didn't Miss You — Angie Stone
  6. Git Up, Git Out — Outkast & Goodie Mob
  7. Let Me Ride — Dr. Dre & Jewell
  8. Computer Love — Zapp
  9. Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) — Sly & The Family Stone
  10. All The Way Lover — Millie Jackson
  11. Sex Machine — James Brown & The Original J.B.s
  12. Super Freak — Rick James
  13. 1999 — Prince
  14. Egypt Egypt — Egyptian Lover
  15. Somebody's Watching Me — Rockwell
  16. Atomic Dog — George Clinton
  17. Fame — David Bowie
  18. Billie Jean — Michael Jackson
  19. Are You Single? — Aurra
  20. Come And Get Your Love — Redbone
  21. I'll Be Good — Rene & Angela
  22. Bad Boy / Having A Party
  23. Love to Love You Baby — Donna Summer
  24. Ain't Nobody — Chaka Khan
  25. Keep On Truckin' — Eddie Kendricks
  26. Brick House — The Commodores
  27. Weak At The Knees — Steve Arrington
  28. I Need More Time — The Meters
  29. Keep On Doin' It — New Birth
  30. Ninja Walk (Street Walk) — The Fatback Band
  31. Breast Stroke — Monk Higgins & Alex Brown
  32. The Nigga Ya Love To Hate — Ice Cube
  33. Cutie Pie — One Way
  34. Knee Deep (Midnight Mix) — George Clinton
  35. If I'm In Luck, I Might Get Picked Up — Betty Davis
  36. Pusherman — Curtis Mayfield
  37. Po Pimp — Do Or Die
  38. Got Your Money — Ol' Dirty Bastard & Kelis
  39. The Boss — James Brown
  40. Tryin' To See Another Day — The Isley Brothers
  41. I Don't Know What It Is, But It Sure Is Funky — Ripple
  42. Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get — The Dramatics
  43. What's Love Got To Do With It — Tina Turner
  44. Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be) — Sly & The Family Stone
  45. Never Can Say Goodbye — David T. Walker
  46. My Way — Frank Sinatra
  47. My Way — Shirley Bassey
  48. Tell It Like It Is — S.O.U.L.
  49. History Repeating — Propellerheads & Shirley Bassey
  50. I Wonder U — Prince & The Revolution
  51. Africa — D'Angelo
  52. Sundown Town — Vince Staples
  53. Old Board Carpenter — Babylon Warriors
  54. Kiss — Prince & The Revolution
  55. Lady Marmalade — Labelle
  56. Creole Broad — Reynaldo Rey
  57. Le Freak — Chic
  58. The Cisco Kid — War
  59. Funky Love — The Staple Singers
  60. Give Up The Funk — Parliament
  61. The Jam — Graham Central Station
  62. Tell Me Something Good — Rufus & Chaka Khan
  63. I Believe To My Soul — Donny Hathaway
  64. Getaway — Dee Dee Bridgewater
  65. Kung Fu — Curtis Mayfield
  66. Hung Up On My Baby — Isaac Hayes (1974)
  67. Mind Playing Tricks on Me — Geto Boys (1991)
  68. Blacc Ice — Nipsey Hussle
  69. Doobie Ashtray — Devin The Dude
  70. I Found Me — Z-Ro
  71. The Corner — Common & The Last Poets
  72. Wino & Junkies — Richard Pryor
  73. Be Alright — Zapp
  74. No Money Down — Jerry Butler
  75. Dreams — The Game
  76. Getaway — Earth, Wind & Fire
  77. Street Life — The Crusaders (1979)
  78. Kabu — Aster Aweke (1990)
  79. Cry of A Dreamer — The Sylvers
  80. The Whole Town's Laughing At Me — Teddy Pendergrass
  81. Diamonds & Pearls — Prince
  82. Memories — Material ft. Whitney Houston, Archie Shepp, Bill Laswell & Michael Beinhorn (1982)
  83. Where I Wanna Be — Donell Jones (1999)
  84. Doing It My Way — Bobby Womack (1974)
  85. You Keep Me Hangin' On — The Supremes (1967)
  86. No Happy Holidays — Mary J. Blige (1999)
  87. Heartbreak Hotel — Whitney Houston, Faith Evans & Kelly Price (1998)
  88. Faded Pictures — Case & Joe (1997)
  89. Blame It On My Youth — Nat King Cole
  90. I'd Rather Go Blind — Etta James (1967)
  91. Requiem in D Minor, K. 626 — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1791)
  92. Chanson D'un Jour D'Hiver — Cortex (1976)
  93. Mural — Lupe Fiasco (2015)
  94. The World is a Masquerade — Earth, Wind & Fire
  95. Love Is Fading — Bohannon
  96. Slipping Into Darkness — War
  97. Let's Get Closer — Atlantic Starr (1982)
  98. Closer Than Close — Nipsey Hussle (2008)
  99. These Days — Nate Dogg (1999)
  100. This World We Lived In — B-Brazy (1998)
  101. Help Me Please — Z-Ro
  102. AYE! (Free The Homies) — Vince Staples (2022)
  103. Never Change — ScHoolboy Q & SZA (2016)
  104. You Remember That One Day Summer Past? — The Wire
  105. Children Song — Vince Staples
  106. All Up To You — Con Funk Shun
  107. Raised In The Hub — Lil Chill
  108. You Can't Fade Me / JD's Gaffilin' — Ice Cube
  109. The Art of Peer Pressure — Kendrick Lamar
  110. Go Home, You Don't Belong Here — Lamont Carey
  111. Someday — Scarface & Faith Evans
  112. Niggas vs The Police — Richard Pryor
  113. Way Down In The Hole — The Blind Boys of Alabama
  114. Funky Drummer (Part 1 & 2) — James Brown
  115. The World Is A Ghetto — War (1973)
  116. The Ghetto — The Game, Nas & will.i.am
  117. Wolf & Leopards — Dennis Brown
  118. Use Me — Bill Withers
  119. God Is In Control — James Hall (1994)
  120. Baby, This Love I Have — Minnie Riperton
  121. K.O.S. (Determination) — Black Star
  122. Hope — Twista & Faith Evans
  123. That Time of the Year — Rhinoceros
  124. Face The World — Nipsey Hussle (2013)
  125. The Look of Love — Isaac Hayes
  126. Can I Live — Jay-Z (1996)
  127. A Love of Your Own — Average White Band (1976)
  128. Dats How I'm Livin' — B.G. Knoccout & DJ Yella