It contains two tracks from the film score composed by Hans Zimmer, three tracks co-arranged by violinist Tim Fain and Nicholas Britell,[5] and original spiritual songs written and arranged for the film by Nicholas Britell,[6] as well as performances by Alabama Shakes, Cody ChesnuTT, Gary Clark Jr., Alicia Keys, Tim Fain,[7] Laura Mvula, Chris Cornell, Joy Williams, John Legend, and spiritual song performances from the film.

[8] Having been interested in each other's work for some time, director Steve McQueen approached composer Hans Zimmer to write the score to 12 Years a Slave after filming had completed.

The focus of the track is about an enslaved person reaching "quittin' time" while also trying to please the overseer to avoid getting beaten.

After we watched 12 Years a Slave in our hometown of Athens, Alabama, we stumbled across this song a week later.

I was inspired to write a hundred different songs, but finally landed on one based on what I believe is an extremely important message I took from this man's journey.