Channing Tatum - Step Up Production Notes 5

The dance and drama of STEP UP could only be set into motion by equally irresistible music -- which is why Anne Fletcher immediately brought in sought-after music supervisor Buck Damon, whose work on such films as “Garden State” and “Mean Girls” established his reputation for tapping into the sounds of the moment.

Damon in turn rounded up a roster of today’s most exciting hip-hop producers including Kwame, Alias and Neff-U, who worked closely with the filmmaking team to develop original songs based upon the script, concepts and choreography before shooting even began.

Says Anne Fletcher, "Buck did such a great job that the music of STEP UP is truly one of the biggest stars of the movie." The album will be available on Jive Records. Taking his inspiration from the script, Damon quickly envisioned a soundtrack that would match the film’s exuberant and authentic sense of youth style.

"We wanted the music to be like another character in the film," says Damon. "So we created a lot of originals for the film – building a soundtrack that is street credible yet also has a real symphonic richness to it. Anne and I really wanted to create something that would stand the test of time, something where if you listen to the album ten years from now it might sound like 2006 but it’s still a hot soundtrack.”

Damon continues: “I started by going shopping – I looked through all the current hip-hop albums that I found interesting, put together a kind of Who’s Who listing of all the hottest urban music producers and then asked them each for demos. What came back was a treasure chest of riches – it was really cool and brought us to a lot of great artists.”

One of the first artists to come aboard was Wyclef Jean, the former Fugee’s lead rapper and among the hip-hop world’s most eclectic and innovative talents. “Once you’ve snagged one big fish, the competition starts to bring more in,” notes Damon.

Soon the likes of renowned Philly hip-hop producer Scott Storch, classically-trained hip-hop writer/producer Rich Harrison and New York-based DJ turned producer Mark Ronson were joining the mix. They in turn helped to bring in a host of artists who could relate strongly to the film’s themes and dance scenes including Ciara, Sean Paul, Keyshia Cole, Chris Brown, Petey Pablo, Mario, Samantha Jade, Gina Rene, Jamie Scott, Drew Sidora, Novel, Youngbloods, Anthony Hamilton and Yung Juc.

Four music videos from the soundtrack, some featuring the STEP UP cast, will include “Give It Up to Me” from Jamaican dancehall DJ Sean Paul with 21 year-old Oakland-based songstress Keyshia Cole; “Say Goodbye” from 16 year-old R&B prodigy Chris Brown; “For the Love” from Grammy nominee Mario and STEP UP cast member Drew Sidora; and “Get Up” from R&B superstar Ciara – a video that will also feature an unknown amateur talent to be chosen from audition tapes submitted to the filmmakers in a special on-line contest on myspace.com.

“This has been an incredible year and a half long process of finding the best producers, putting together original songs and recording some phenomenal artists – it’s been challenging but it’s also been incredibly fun and definitely worth it,” sums up Buck Damon. “Everything has come full circle back to our original vision of creating an inspired urban soundtrack.”

Next Page: Reel Dance: The Visual Design of Step Up