Composer Stanley A. Smith - The Gospel

In the world of music the City of Compton evokes images of Hip-Hop and Gangsta Rap. One would never imagine a classically trained film and television Composer would share the same beginnings as rap artists Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and more recently The Game, but such is the case with Stanley A. Smith.

His career in music began early, as a student at California State University-Long Beach. While earning a Bachelor's Degree in Music, Stanley worked as a songwriter and staff producer at TBA Records. This lead to several of his productions earning spots on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz charts. Stanley simultaneously stacked up Re-mix and production credits, including co-producing with Grammy Award winning Producer David Foster. As the demand for his work increased, Stanley found himself in a position to pursue his life long dream of composing for film and television. Most notably he is the Composer of the funky opening theme and score to the award winning Fox series The Bernie Mac Show. Stanley also holds credits on several award winning independent features, such as Constellation, The Visit and Catfish In Black Bean Sauce.

Currently, Stanley is serving as the Composer for the upcoming ScreenGems theatrical release The Gospel. He is excited to be part of such a creative project and notes the challenge of merging traditional underscore with an All-Star Gospel Soundtrack. As one of the few African American Composers in the business, it is important to have ones talents displayed on a range of projects. Be it for a dramatic score, urban, action or romantic comedy feature, Stanley A. Smith continuously strives to create memorable and moving scores that reach people on all levels.