‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Soundtrack Brings Musical Vibrance to a World in Transition
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The album companion of Marvel Studios’ $250 million sequel to “Black Panther,” “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” differs from the first Kendrick Lamar-curated set in key ways. For one, the film’s unforeseen delays, including the devastating loss of lead actor Chadwick Boseman in 2020, derailed the film’s plotline and release dates for years. And with no guest curator, director Ryan Coogler and composer Ludwig Göransson were the soundtrack’s guiding force.
“When we lost Chadwick, great Chadwick, we had to figure out a way to move forward,” Coogler tells Variety in this week’s cover story. “Once that was realized, we were also thinking about the music and giving audiences something that felt as spiritually connected as what we did with Kendrick [on the first soundtrack].”
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“Every aspect of this movie, including all the artists [that have] been a part of it, it’s been really a labor of love,” Göransson says of the film’s 15-track and musically diverse soundtrack. “I never expected everyone to come together and pour so much so much heart and so much love to it.”
The plan, which Coogler admits was “a pie-in-the-sky idea,” was to seek out Rihanna as the soundtrack’s leading female voice, to align with the rise of Princess Shuri (Letitia Wright) and the warrior women who lead Wakanda (including Angela Bassett, Lupita Nyong’o and Danai Gurira) who assume roles as the franchise’s new protagonists.
A phone call to Roc Nation’s Jay Brown and Jay-Z, plus the comfort of a pre-existing friendship between Göransson and Rihanna, laid down the foundation for the pipe dream to come true.
“Lift Me Up,” the orchestral track that took Rihanna out of hiatus, serves as a tribute to the life and legacy of Boseman and was co-written by Nigerian singer-songwriter Tems — whose cover of Bob Marley staple “No Woman, No Cry,” received similar acclaim. “When I heard [‘Lift Me Up’] for the first time, it was a very powerful experience,” remembers Göransson. “This movie is also about motherhood so having her story, and putting it out on the song, was magic.”
“Born Again” is the set’s second Rihanna song, and stylistically is more up-tempo than the latter; the piano ballad ends with elliptical power chords and primal chants composed by The-Dream, who is credited for writing Rihanna’s 2007 break-through “Umbrella” and “Birthday Cake,” among several of her other hits.
Emerging Mexican artists, with Latin trap and Mexican folk influences, in addition to South African Amapiano, Afrobeats and hints of reggae, make up the diverse collection of sounds on the playlist.
In an interview with Variety, Göransson says he traveled to Mesoamerican regions after recognizing the film’s various Mayan influences. He consulted musical archaeologists and spent two weeks in Mexico City collaborating with Mexican musicians, auditionioning “hundreds of ancient instruments,” from clay flutes to unusual percussion instruments. He also surveyed paintings of Mayans playing on turtle shells, among dozens of similar musically inspirational moments. All in all, the composer spent more than a year on the score overall, and estimates that 250 musicians and singers were involved, including an 80-piece London orchestra, 40-voice choirs in both London and Los Angeles, plus another 20-voice L.A. choir that specialized in Mesoamerican music.
Rapper Mare Advertencia Lirika and Vivir Quintana’s “Árboles Bajo El Mar” fills the sonic space of the character’s birth sequence with breathy, elongated vibratos that end with a whispered hymn that builds up into a chant. Rapper Pat Boy raps entirely in Mayan on “Laayli’ kuxa’ano’one,” and lilting synths sweep through much of the record, like on “Con La Brisa” with Foudeqush — whose delicate vocals re-appear on the Mexican corrido “No Digas Mi Nombre,” with Calle x Vida. Snow Tha Product and E-40’s “La Vida” deftly melts mariachi chords with hip-hop rhythms, as one of the soundtrack’s more light-hearted tracks.
Elsewhere, Nigerian singer-songwriter Ckay and PinkPantheress share a sultry duet on “Anya Mmiri,” over a melodious Afrobeats tune recorded in Lagos with the help of producer P.Priime. “As a black man, Black Panther is very close to my heart,” Ckay shared in a statement. “Being a part of such a moment that celebrates and elevates black culture worldwide is something I’m very proud of.”
“It’s been an incredible experience and an honor to create a soundtrack that’s so tightly woven into the fabric of the film itself,” said Archie Davis, soundtrack producer and Def Jam’s chief creative officer. “The majority of these songs are in the film in a meaningful way; they advance the narrative, they create sonic backdrops as the characters and the story develop. This kind of immersive integration of sound and film is something that Ryan, Ludwig and I have always longed to see.”
Music From and Inspired by “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” — Official Tracklist
Rihanna, “Born Again”
Rihanna, “Lift Me Up”
DBN Gogo / Sino Msolo / Kamo Mphela / Young Stunna / Busiswa, “Love & Loyalty (Believe)”
Burna Boy, “Alone”
Tems, “No Woman No Cry”
Vivir Quintana / Mare Advertencia, “Árboles Bajo el Mar”
Foudeqush / Ludwig Göransson, “Con la Brisa”
Snow tha Product, “La Vida” (ft. E-40)
Stormzy, “Interlude”
Fireboy DML, “Coming Back fro You”
Tobe Nwigwe / Fat Nwigwe, “They Want It, but No Performed”
ADN Maya Colectivo / Pat Boy / Yaalen K’uj / All Mayan Winik, “Laayli’ kuxa’ano’one”
OG Dayv / Future, “Limoncello”
Ckay, “Anya Mmiri” (ft. PinkPantheress)
Bloody Civilian, “Wake Up” (ft. Rema)
Alemán, “Pantera” (ft. Rema)
DBN Gogo / Sino Msolo / Kamo Mphela / Young Stunna / Busiswa, “Jele”
Blue Rojo, “Inframundo”
Calle x Vida / Foudeqush, “No Digas Mi Nombre”
Guadalupe de Jesús Chan Poot, “Mi Pueblo”
With reporting by Jon Burlingame
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