Jongnic “JB” Bontemps is a uniquely modern film composer, harmonizing a classical education with his rich tech background as a maestro of Silicon Valley to write everything from the hip-hop infused score for the Tribeca-favorite documentary United Skates, to rousing additional music for 

Creed II. He’s been the go-to composer for the latter film’s director, Steven Caple Jr., including the score for the coming-of-age drama, The Land, where he also produced the song “This Bitter Land” for Nas and Erykah Badu.

 

He has scored dozens of features, documentaries, shorts, and videogames in all genres—fusing a contemporary sound with timeless emotion. Other recent projects include the Toni Braxton-starring drama, Faith Under Fire, and the Sundance selection Leimert Park, produced by Charles King (Mudbound). JB’s scores have echoed at Cannes, the Warsaw Film Festival, Pan African American Film Fest, and American Black Film Fest, and at home on HBO, BET, Lifetime, NBC, Showtime, Netflix, PBS and Disney XD.

 

Born in Brooklyn, JB learned the piano and soaked up his gospel and jazz surroundings. He studied music at Yale, then found himself at the heart of the tech industry as a software developer and entrepreneur (his startup was sold to HP). He thrived there for several years, but eventually decided to pursue his deeper passion and jumped head-first into the film scoring program at USC and the Sundance Film Music Lab. He apprenticed as a programmer for numerous A-list Hollywood composers, before breaking out as a singular solo composer.

 

“Film music has to tell a story without words,” JB says. “Its job is to add depth and dimension to the images and words presented on screen. That’s what attracted me to the medium; the opportunity to really express emotion with music alone.”

FEATURE FILM

COLLEGE BEHIND BARS                                                   Florentine Films

 

UNITED SKATES                                                                 Sweet Ninja Films

 

HALE                                                                                    Nuanse Entertainment

 

UNTITLED HOLLYWOOD HILLS PROJECT                       Defiant Studios

 

ANTHOLOGY                                                                       Nuanse Entertainment 

 

ACTORS ANONYMOUS                                                      Elysium Bandini Prod

*Co-Score w/ Nathan Matthew David

 

THEN THERE WAS JOE

 

ABOUT THE PLACES WE DWELL THE LAND                    Low Spark Films

 

THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS                                                 Universal Pictures

*Score Programmer

SHARIA                                                                                  Amblem Pictures

 

A FANCY PIECE OF HOMICIDE

*Additional Music

 

THE IMITATION GAME                                                         The Weinstein Company

*Score Programmer

 

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM 3                                                  Twentieth Century Fox

*Score Programmer

 

GODZILLA                                                                              Warner Brothers

*Score Programmer

 

THE MONUMENTS MEN                                                      Columbia Pictures

*Synth Programming

 

GROWING UP POSITIVE

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CARRIE                                                                                    Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer

*Additional Music

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TELEVISION

FAITH UNDER FIRE (TV Movie)                                            Lifetime

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KICKIN’ IT                                                                               Disney XD

*Select episodes

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LEIMERT PARK (Web Series)                                               Macro Digital

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OPTIMISTRY

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BAD DAD REHAB (TV Movie)                                               Bobbcat Films/TV One

​

ALLEY WAY

 

CLASS

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VIDEO GAMES

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CALL OF DUTY: WWII                                                           Activision

*Addt’l Music

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