Highest 2 Lowest soundtrack guide: A complete list of the music in the Denzel Washington film

The latest Denzel Washington film, Highest 2 Lowest, has a splendid list of soundtracks. The original soundtrack was created by none other than Howard Drossin, a frequent collaborator of the film's helmer, Spike Lee.

What gets even more interesting is that big names such as Fergus McCreadie Trio, Aiyana-Lee, Jensen McRae, and A$AP Rocky are also attached to the creation of the soundtrack. A$AP Rocky is also one of the cast members of the film. Along with him and Denzel Washington, the film also stars Jeffrey Wright, Ilfenesh Hadera, Ice Spice, Dean Winters, and many others.

A reconceptualization of Akira Kurosawa's 1963 classic High and Low, the A24 film follows the plot of an influential man in the music industry, David King, who unexpectedly falls into a do-or-die situation as his son Trey gets abducted.

Its synopsis, as per the official website of A24, goes as follows:

"When a titan music mogul (Denzel Washington), widely known as having the “best ears in the business”, is targeted with a ransom plot, he is jammed up in a life-or-death moral dilemma. Brothers Denzel Washington and Spike Lee reunite for the 5th in their long working relationship for a reinterpretation of the great filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s crime thriller High and Low, now played out on the mean streets of modern day New York City."

Let us explore the soundtrack of Highest 2 Lowest.

The soundtrack of Highest 2 Lowest explored

Since Highest 2 Lowest follows the plot involving a music mogul's life being turned upside down, it goes without saying that music plays an integral role in its story. It certainly has a bigger role than only creating the ethos of the film, since music itself is a big crux of its storyline.

An original score created by Howard Drossin, who has composed music for films including Unleashed (2005), Sidewalk (2010), The Man With The Iron Fists (2012, collaborated with RZA), and Welcome to Sudden Death (2020), to name a few.

He has also worked on the orchestrations of several films directed by Spike Lee, including 25th Hour (2002), She Hate Me (2004), Inside Man (2006), BlacKkKlansman (2018), etc. Drossin has composed the music for Lee's 2018 film, Pass Over.

Here is the list of the original score by Howard Drossin for Highest 2 Lowest:

All Money Ain’t Good Money – Howard Drossin
And Now We Shall Begin – Howard Drossin
Balcony Disconnect- Howard Drossin
Brooklyn Hospital – Howard Drossin
Both Eyes Closed – A$AP ROCKY
Coach Foxy- Howard Drossin
Da Lowdown – Eddie Palmieri & Afro-Caribbean Jazz Octet
Da Kings – Howard Drossin
Father 2 Son- Howard Drossin
Free Yung Felon- Howard Drossin
Highest 2 Lowest – Aiyana-Lee
Ice Cold- Howard Drossin
King David – Jensen McRae
Kings and NYPD Detecting- Howard Drossin
Lobby Talk- Howard Drossin
Loving Partners – Fergus McCreadie Trio
Loving Partners – Howard Drossin
Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin’ – Norm Lewis
Prisencolin (Americano Joint) – Aiyana-Lee
Paul On His Knees 1- Howard Drossin
Paul On His Knees 2- Howard Drossin
Paul Begs – Fergus McCreadie Trio
Paul Begs (Solo Piano) – Fergus McCreadie Trio
Puerto Rico – Eddie Palmieri & The Salsa Orchestra
Questioning Kyle – Howard Drossin
Trey Is Found- Howard Drossin
The Chase – Fergus McCreadie Trio, Howard Drossin
These Mean Streets- Howard Drossin
Trunks – A$AP ROCKY
We Got This (Stony Gate 2) – Fergus McCreadie Trio, Howard Drossin

Apart from the original score, the soundtrack also has an extended play by the Fergus McCreadie Trio and Howard Drossin. Here is the complete list:

All Money Ain’t Good Money (Solo Piano)
All Money Ain’t Good Money (Trio)
It’s All About the Size – Fergus McCreadie & Howard Drossin
Loving Partners (Trio)
Loving Partners (Solo Piano)
Paul Begs (Trio)
Paul Begs (Solo Piano)
Stony Gate
The Son, The Burden

Along with these songs, the soundtrack also consists of songs including The Boss (feat. The J.B.'s) and The Payback by James Brown.

Helmer Spike Lee, who assembled the soundtrack of Highest 2 Lowest, spoke to Rolling Stones about how the Fergus McCreadie Trio, Jensen McRae, and Aiyana Lee became a part of the soundtrack. He mentions:

“I First Saw And Heard Aiyana, Jensen And The Fergus McCreadie Trio On INSTAGRAM. My EYES And EARS Don’t LIE. It’s Da TRUTH,RUTH. Ya-Dig? SHO-NUFF”

The digital release of the soundtrack took place on 15th August 2025. It is available to stream on mainstream platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify, and Amazon Music.

Highest 2 Lowest is releasing on the streaming platform Apple TV+ on 5th September 2025.