The Virginia State Muhammad Ali trailer partnership put the Trojan Explosion’s sound in front of a global audience this fall. The VSU marching band recorded music for the official promo trailer of The Greatest, Prime Video’s eight-episode drama about the boxing icon. That’s a Hollywood credit. For a Division II band out of Ettrick, Virginia, it’s a big one.

Virginia State announced the collaboration on Nov. 5. By then, all eight episodes were already streaming on Prime Video. Meanwhile, the trailer had been circulating since mid-October, so plenty of viewers heard the band before they knew who was playing.

How the Virginia State Muhammad Ali Trailer Came Together

The project started with a phone call between two Virginians. Kieran Casey, a Richmond native who now works in Los Angeles as a film composer and ethnomusicologist, linked the band with the production side. From there, California composer Mic Ferrante wrote the trailer’s music. Then he flew east.

Ferrante came to campus to work with the students directly. Dr. Taylor Whitehead, the band’s director, led the Trojan Explosion through the sessions. In addition, VSU’s Department of Music ran the recording itself, right there in Ettrick.

That detail matters. Department chair Dr. Samuel Rowley and Dustin Painter, an assistant professor of music production and technology, worked the sessions alongside students from the audio recording and production track. As a result, the credit runs two ways. Band members performed. Their classmates, meanwhile, engineered the takes that ended up in a major studio campaign.

Whitehead gave the credit straight back to the students. In the university’s announcement, he said he was proud of them and pointed to their talent and discipline as the reason calls like this come in.

What Is The Greatest?

Ben Watkins, the creator behind Prime Video’s Cross, runs the show. Newcomer Jaalen Best plays Cassius Clay, the Louisville kid who became Muhammad Ali. The story tracks his early rise, from Olympic gold through his chase for the heavyweight title.

The supporting cast carries weight too. Omari Hardwick plays Cassius Clay Sr., and Dana Gourrier plays his mother, Odessa “Bird” Clay. Amin Joseph takes on Sonny Liston. Michael Ealy steps in as Malcolm X.

Behind the camera, Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society produces. Jay-Z and Lonnie Ali, the champ’s widow, are among the executive producers. Additionally, Amazon bills it as the first authorized scripted series on Ali’s life, built with access to his estate.

So when Prime Video needed a sound to introduce that story, it went to an HBCU band room in Ettrick.

A Résumé That Keeps Growing

None of this came out of nowhere. The Trojan Explosion name dates to 1984, when Harold “Big Whistle” Haughton Sr. took over a program that drew just 17 students to its first practice. Haughton rebuilt it, renamed it and ran it for 19 years.

Dr. Mark W. Phillips took over in 2003. Under Phillips, the band made nine straight trips to the Honda Battle of the Bands. Its drumline also played the White House for President Barack Obama in 2010. Later, in 2023, the band supplied arrival music for President Joe Biden’s Black History Month program.

Whitehead has kept the momentum going. The Trojan Explosion finished second in Division II at the ESPN Band of the Year championship in both 2023 and 2024. This fall, it opened the Red Lobster Band of the Year race at No. 1 in Division II, leading the field in drill and percussion. Plus, VSU says the band now tops 200 members, the largest in school history and in the CIAA.

Fans who follow HBCU bands know that growth didn’t happen by accident.

Muhammad Ali Already Had HBCU History

There’s another layer here. Ali spent real time on HBCU campuses during the most combative stretch of his life.

On Nov. 23, 1966, Tuskegee’s student government brought him to Logan Hall ahead of the school’s football game with Alabama State. He talked boxing, his name change, the Nation of Islam and civil rights. He also broke out the Ali Shuffle for the crowd.

Five months later, on April 22, 1967, he spoke at Howard University. His message centered on Black pride. Just days afterward, he refused induction into the Army. Howard students were already arguing about Vietnam and about their school’s identity, and Ali’s visit turned up the volume on both debates.

That history gives the VSU credit a little extra weight. Black college campuses gave Ali a microphone when much of the country wanted him quiet. Now, nearly 60 years later, an HBCU band is helping hand his story to a new generation.

Why the Virginia State Muhammad Ali Trailer Credit Matters

Trailers move fast. Most viewers won’t sit through credits. Still, the Virginia State Muhammad Ali trailer connection gives students something concrete: a professional recording, a studio-level client and proof their training works beyond halftime.

For music production students especially, it’s portfolio work most programs can’t offer. For the band, it’s one more stage. This time, it just happens to stream.

It also fits a pattern. HBCU bands keep landing in mainstream entertainment, from award-show stages to streaming campaigns, and each booking makes the next pitch easier. Producers notice. So do recruits picking between band programs this spring.

For more, follow our Virginia State University coverage on HBCU Buzz.