Key Takeaways
1. Grant Kirkhope, a veteran composer, is upset over not being credited for his work on the DK Rap in The Super Mario Bros. Movie and hasn’t watched the film fully due to his frustration.
2. The DK Rap, originally a playful joke for Donkey Kong 64, was featured in The Super Mario Bros. Movie during Donkey Kong’s introduction.
3. Kirkhope reached out to Nintendo regarding the lack of credit and learned of their “arbitrary” policy that excludes composers of music from Nintendo-owned games from receiving recognition, except for Koji Kondo.
4. The upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 game, Donkey Kong Bananza, also included the DK Rap (renamed “Getaway”) without crediting Kirkhope, furthering his disappointment.
5. Many fans support Kirkhope, expressing their frustration over Nintendo’s treatment of him and the lack of recognition for his contributions.
Veteran video game composer Grant Kirkhope, known for his work on Nintendo 64 classics like GoldenEye 007, Banjo-Kazooie (1998), and Donkey Kong 64 (1999), remains very upset over not being credited for his contribution to The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Nearly two years after its release, he still hasn’t watched the whole film.
The DK Rap and Its Journey
Kirkhope is the mind behind the well-known DK Rap track that opened Donkey Kong 64, performed by Rare designer George Andreas. The track was initially created as a playful joke but ended up being featured in the Super Mario Bros. Movie during Donkey Kong’s introduction.
In a frank discussion with Push to Talk, he shared, “I tell you what, I still haven’t watched the movie yet. I’ve seen that bit with the rap. But I was so pissed, I haven’t watched it.” In 2023, when the film was released, Kirkhope expressed on X, “still haven’t seen the Mario movie …. can’t bring myself to watch it.”
Frustrations and Connections
During this time, Kirkhope gained attention on social media for expressing his dissatisfaction. He decided to reach out to a recent professional contact at Nintendo, who he worked with when arranging Banjo-Kazooie music for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in 2019. His contact received a reply from Nintendo’s legal team, which referenced an “arbitrary” three-rule policy for credits.
The policy states that composers of music from Nintendo-owned games would not be recognized, except for the iconic Mario series composer, Koji Kondo. Kirkhope further explained, “They said we decided that any music that was quoted from the games we owned, we wouldn’t credit the composers – apart from Koji Kondo.”
More Issues with Donkey Kong Bananza
In a similar vein, the Nintendo Switch 2’s first-party title, Donkey Kong Bananza, also featured DK Rap in its soundtrack, but it was renamed to “Getaway.” Kirkhope was again taken aback that he was not notified about DK Rap’s appearance and, like the situation with the Super Mario Movie, he was not credited for its inclusion in the Switch 2 game.
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