69 F*cking Fantastic Songs From Netflix's She's Gotta Have It
In She's Gotta Have It, the new Netflix series inspired by Spike Lee's 1986 film of the same name, the music featured throughout the show is equally as complex, unpredictable, and consequential as the show's main characters. Set in modern-day Brooklyn, the show follows sexually liberated millennial Nola Darling as she balances romantic relationships with three different men while trying to make a name for herself as an artist, but it's through music, which ranges from jazz standards to reggaeton and neo-soul, that Nola is able to authentically connect with her lovers, her best friends, her identity, and the viewer.
Spike Lee has always understood the role of music in adding dimension to characters and storylines. His musician father, Bill Lee, composed the original soundtrack for the 1986 version of She's Gotta Have It, and Spike personally curated the songs for each of the 10 episodes to accompany the show's score by legendary composer Bruce Hornsby.
While She's Gotta Have It is firmly planted in 2017, the soundtrack, with a few exceptions, is a throwback to hip-hop, soul, and R&B from the '70s through the early '00s. Nostalgia-inducing classic tracks from acts like Maxwell, Stevie Wonder, and Jill Scott are featured so prominently in the show that album covers are often used as transition slides between scenes, and new music by Anthony Ramos, who stars in the series as one of Nola's lovers, Mars Blackmon, can be heard throughout the show.
Check out the music from the first season of She's Gotta Have It below.
"We Love Roll Call, Y-All" by The Natural Spiritual Orchestra
Plays in: Episode 1
"Between the Sheets" by The Isley Brothers
Plays in: Episode 1
"Set It Off" by Strafe
Plays in: Episode 1
"Mad Random" by Decora
Plays in: Episode 1
"Pretty Wings" by Maxwell
Plays in: Episode 1
"My Life" by Mary J. Blige
Plays in: Episode 1
"Nola" by José James
Plays in: Episode 1
"Find Us" by Ben P.
Plays in: Episode 1
"Tender Love" by The Force M.D.'s
Plays in: Episode 1
"All Blues" by Miles Davis
Plays in: Episode 1
"Golden" by Jill Scott
Plays in: Episode 1
"Kingston Town" by Young Veterans
Plays in: Episode 2
"This Me Know" by Opal
Plays in: Episode 2
"We Rep Brooklyn" by Ahmed Sirour
Plays in: Episode 2
"The Seed (2.0)" by The Roots feat. Cody Chesnutt
Plays in: Episode 2
"Hula Hoop" by Daddy Yankee
Plays in: Episode 2
"Like 2 Party" by Parisian Tone
Plays in: Episode 2
"Losing You" by Solange
Plays in: Episode 2
"Oshun" by Hamsa Lila
Plays in: Episode 2
"New Day" by Sabrina Antoinette
Plays in: Episode 3
"Melanin" by Secrett
Plays in: Episode 3
"You Make Me Feel So Young" by Frank Sinatra
Plays in: Episode 3
"Witchcraft" by Frank Sinatra
Plays in: Episode 3
"Autumn Serenade" by Johnny Hartman and John Coltrane
Plays in: Episode 3
"Genuine" by Shinobi Ninja
Plays in: Episode 3
"Living the Light" by Evrythng Cost
Plays in: Episode 3
"Best of It" by Antonia Jenae feat. Sean Woods
Plays in: Episode 3
"Keep Looking" by Sade
Plays in: Episode 3
"Anytime" by Brian McKnight
Plays in: Episode 3
"Say Yes" by Floetry
Plays in: Episode 4
"Hawkmen" by Isla Noir
Plays in: Episode 4
"Don't Ask My Neighbors" by The Emotions
Plays in: Episode 4
"Scene" by GBM Nutron
Plays in: Episode 4
"Can't Stand It" by Steel Pulse
Plays in: Episode 4
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" by Rhythms del Mundo feat. U2 and Coco Freeman
Plays in: Episode 4
"Low Key Low Key" by Diop
Plays in: Episode 4
"We Don't Need a Reason" by Sherika Sherard
Plays in: Episode 4
"Cosmic Light" by Thandi Ntuli
Plays in: Episode 4
"As Warm as the Sun" by Bryan Vargas and Ya Esta
Plays in: Episode 4
"Fool of Me" by Me'Shell Ndegeocello
Plays in: Episode 4
"What Is Love" by Vivian Green
Plays in: Episode 5
"Nobody" by Jack Freeman
Plays in: Episode 5
"Save Yourself" by Shawndrell
Plays in: Episode 5
"6 Rings" by $tar
Plays in: Episode 6
"Touch the Sky" by Decora
Plays in: Episode 6
"I Wish I Wasn't" by Heather Headley
Plays in: Episode 6
"Lonely Heart" by Thandi Ntuli
Plays in: Episode 6
"Trizonna" by Trizonna McClendon
Plays in: Episode 6
"Evolution" by Shola Adisa Farrar
Plays in: Episode 6
"I'm Not Gonna Let You" by Colonel Abrams
Plays in: Episode 6
"Optimistic" by Sounds of Blackness
Plays in: Episode 6
"Take Me 2 a Place" by Trade Stevens
Plays in: Episode 7
"All in Love Is Fair" by Stevie Wonder
Plays in: Episode 7
"I'm Here to Stay" by Belinda Owino
Plays in: Episode 7
"One For My Baby and One More For the Road" by Frank Sinatra
Plays in: Episode 7
"Klown Wit Da Nuclear Code" by Stew
Plays in: Episode 8
"Buzz" by Brittany Campbell
Plays in: Episode 8
"Clocks" by Rhythm del Mundo feat. Coldplay
Plays in: Episode 8
"Mercy" by Prefab Sprout
Plays in: Episode 8
"Oshun Song/BlackNotes Libation" by BlackNotes
Plays in: Episode 8
"Outta Here" by KRS One
Plays in: Episode 8
"Running" by YahZarah
Plays in: Episode 8
"Martin Was a Man, a Real Man" by Oliver Nelson
Plays in: Episode 9
"In My Head" by Timberlace
"I Am the Black Gold of the Sun" by Rotary Connection
Plays in: Episode 9
"This Woman's Work" by Maxwell
Plays in: Episode 9
"Faithful" by Me'Shell Ndegeocello
Plays in: Episode 9
"Be Real Black For Me" by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway
Plays in: Episode 10
"Raspberry Beret" by Prince and the Revolution
Plays in: Episode 10