Donkey Kong Rap Creator Grant Kirkhope Calls Out Super Mario Bros. Movie for Not Crediting Him

The Super Mario Bros. Movie apparently does not credit composer Grant Kirkhope as the creator of the “DK Rap” song heard in the film, a fact which hasn’t gone over well with the composer himself and the creator’s fans. Kirkhope called out the movie’s omission late Tuesday night with evidence from some of his followers backing up his claims about being left out of the credits. Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. fans are now pushing for the crediting snafu to be fixed via updated credits that reflect Kirkhope’s contribution to the film and the Super Mario Bros. universe overall.

The goofy song was first heard in Donkey Kong 64 in 1999 and made appearances elsewhere afterwards, and if you know Donkey Kong, there’s a good chance you know all or part of the words to the rap. Kirkhope previously seemed pretty excited about the rap showing up in the movie after Donkey Kong actor Seth Rogen teased its appearance in the film. He said before that he would’ve “burst with excitement” if he’d known back in ’97 that “the worst rap track in the history of rap tracks” would show up in Mario movie like it did this week.

His hype for the movie and Donkey Kong in general continued after that March 30th tweet, but now, things have taken a turn. While he didn’t comment on the quality of the movie itself, he tweeted late Tuesday night to say “Well that’s f*****g depressing.” The tweet was obviously about the Mario movie, and another shortly after it added context to the situation.

“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,” he said on Twitter.

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Following those tweets, others chimed in within the replies to voice their frustrations that Kirkhope wasn’t credited. A photo of the relevant section of the movie’s credits where Kirkhope’s name would presumably be listed was shared, too, which showed that the “DK Rap” was only credited as being “From Donkey Kong 64.”

Many asked if there was any way to persuade or legally force Nintendo into crediting him, though the composer said he had no idea if that’d be possible.

Reviews for the movie (including our own) have been critical of the Mario movie which seems to offer plenty of nods for longtime fans but seemingly hasn’t done as much for casual fans or newcomers. Its Rotten Tomatoes score has risen a bit since Tuesday, but it’s still not in a favorable spot.