Marvel pulled out all the stops [1] for "Black Panther [2]: Wakanda Forever"'s soundtrack.
The highly anticipated sequel [3] shut down San Diego Comic-Con on July 23 as the cast and director Ryan Coogler unveiled the movie's first teaser trailer, which was set to a beautiful cover of Bob Marley's "No Woman No Cry," sung by Tems and mixed with Kendrick Lamar's famous "Alright" anthem.
The film's soundtrack only became more star-studded when Rihanna released not one, but two songs for it! On Oct. 26, the "Anti" singer shared a clip on social media [4] teasing a 14-second snippet of her song "Lift Me Up." According to Walt Disney Studios, the song, produced by Ludwig Göransson, was "written as a tribute to the extraordinary life and legacy of Chadwick Boseman" by Rihanna, Tems, Coogler, and Göransson.
"After speaking with Ryan and hearing his direction for the film and the song, I wanted to write something that portrays a warm embrace from all the people that I've lost in my life," Tems said in a press release. "I tried to imagine what it would feel like if I could sing to them now and express how much I miss them. Rihanna has been an inspiration to me so hearing her convey this song is a great honor."
The track, which was released Oct. 28, kicks off Rihanna's return to music and the next era of her iconic career — which already includes eight solo albums, with her R9 project [5] still on the way. Rihanna released her last album, "Anti," in 2016, followed by collaborations including 2017's "Lemon" with N.E.R.D. [6] and "Believe It" from PartyNextDoor's "PartyMobile" album [7] in 2020.
The full tracklist was released on Nov. 2, revealing additional songs featuring artists like Stormzy and Burna Boy, and visualizers for all the songs dropped on YouTube on Nov. 3. The film itself features the second song performed by Rihanna, "Born Again," which doesn't appear on the soundtrack, but was released digitally on the movie's premiere date, Nov. 11. POPSUGAR editors screened the movie at a Dolby cinema, and the sound experience took the film to the next level.
While Lamar and his former label head Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith produced the soundtrack for the first "Black Panther" film [8], the "Wakanda Forever" soundtrack was produced by Coogler alongside Göransson, Archie Davis, and Dave Jordan. Ahead, listen to the "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" soundtrack in full.
