DK Rap Composer Reveals Lack of Credit in Super Mario Bros. Movie

If you're a fan of classic video game soundtracks, you might remember Grant Kirkhope, the talented composer behind iconic scores like those of Donkey Kong 64. Recently, he shared his thoughts on a frustrating experience related to The Super Mario Bros. Movie. In an interview with Eurogamer, Kirkhope explained that despite his involvement in creating the famous DK Rap, his name didn’t appear in the film's credits due to Nintendo’s policy regarding music ownership.

Kirkhope recalled speaking with Nintendo after the movie’s release, revealing that the company had decided not to credit composers for any music owned by them, with the notable exception of Koji Kondo. He added that vocal tracks, such as the DK Rap, received credits, but since Nintendo also owned the rights, the composers were still left out.

“I said I appreciate you’ve got your policies and all the rest of it, but by the time the credits roll in the movie to show the songs, the theater’s completely empty, everyone’s gone,” Kirkhope told Eurogamer. “It’s only me and my wife and my two kids sat there going ‘look daddy’s name!’ I said ‘for the sake of a couple of lines of text…’, but that was that.”

This wasn’t the first time Kirkhope voiced his disappointment. In 2023, he took to Twitter to express his frustration, writing, "I was really looking forward to see my name in the credits for the DK Rap, but alas as expected it's not there ........ fml."

Interestingly, another Nintendo-owned track, Bowser's Fury, also went uncredited, while licensed songs received proper composer and performer credits. Kirkhope described the sampling process of the DK Rap as odd, noting he played guitar on the track, while the vocals were handled by members of Rare.

When asked about the possibility of the DK Rap appearing on the Nintendo Music App, Kirkhope responded ambiguously, mentioning that Nintendo owns all the rights and has selectively included some of David Wise’s compositions. He speculated that Nintendo may not have been particularly fond of Donkey Kong 64, a rumor that circulated during his time at Rare.

Despite the lack of credit, Kirkhope remains active in the gaming community, discussing future projects like a potential sequel to Banjo Kazooie, the upcoming Donkey Kong Bananza, and the nostalgic sounds of his past works. Meanwhile, fans of the Mario franchise can look forward to a new animated movie scheduled for release in April 2026.