by Niko Skinner

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Soundtrack Album Cover, November 2022 (Green, Pitchfork)

Hey everybody, I hope y’all had a great Thanksgiving!

I wanted to do something different this week and talk about a movie soundtrack rather than any one artist. I have been listening to the soundtrack of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which started streaming on all platforms earlier this month. I think this album has the potential to be just as popular as the movie itself. It consists of an original score composed by Ludwig Görannson, who also produced most of the songs. This score features both well-known artists (e.g., Rihanna, Future, E-40) and artists that are a little more under the radar (e.g., Snow Tha Product, Fireboy DML, Tems). All of the songs depict various feelings and scenarios influenced by the different cultures that are featured in the movie itself.

The first song that I want to touch on is “Lift Me Up” by Rihanna. This is the lead single on the soundtrack, and for good reason. It brings about feelings of warmth during a time of grief, which is evident in the major key of the song and emotional vocals from Rihanna. The song starts out soft with Rihanna silently humming and a slowly rising instrumental. It eventually builds up with Rihanna now fully singing and the instrumentation becoming more intense. “Lift Me Up” ultimately symbolizes healing and reconciliation, with the song paying tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman (McGee), who portrayed the Black Panther in the original film as well as Rihanna’s return to the music scene after six years. Tems, a co-writer of the song stated that she wanted to write something that portrays a warm embrace from the people that she lost in her life (Cowen). “Laayli’ kuxa’ano’one”, which is heard towards the end of the end credits of the movie, is another intriguing song on the soundtrack. It is performed by Mayan rappers ADN Maya Colectivo, Pat Boy, Yaalen K’uj and All Mayan Winik, and the title could be translated in Spanish to “we are still alive” (Swoboda). “Laayli’ kuxa’ano’one” gives us a bit of a deep dive into the indigenous Latin civilization that is Maya. Elements of this song include rapping that is entirely in Mayan, a verse with a whistling melody, and a synth bass sound. I believe that most people that like secular rap music would take a liking to this song. Another specific song I want to discuss is “They Want It, But No” by the married couple of Toby Nwigwe and Martica “Fat” Nwigwe. I feel like this song could particularly serve as an anthem of the Black Panther movies. It does a good job of incorporating a unique African feel while still being an excellent fit to accompany the typical action that comes with a Marvel movie. In this song, you hear some head-bobbing African percussion as well as dissonant orchestral melody that fades in and out. The icing on the cake is the rap vocals from Toby and “Fat”. They take turns rapping stanzas using a call-and-response method. Every time I hear “They Want It, But No”, I visualize the Black Panther preparing for battle.

To sum it all up, I wanted to cover a soundtrack because it is a critical part of any movie. As a matter of fact, I can say the same about soundtracks to other forms of media, such as video games. For example, I fondly remember playing each of the games in the Batman Arkham series and then listening to various songs from the series. It would always be for the purpose of tying music to a story. The same concept applies to Wakanda Forever. I think that taking the time to listen to songs that are featured in media outlets can help the audience better understand and enjoy them.

References

Green, Dylan. “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Music From and Inspired By Various Artists 2022”. Pitchfork, 11 November 2022. https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/various-artists-black-panther-wakanda-forever-music-from-and-inspired-by/

McGee, N. (2022, October 28). Rihanna’s ‘Lift Me Up’ Is a Perfect Tribute to Chadwick Boseman. TheRoot. https://www.theroot.com/rihanna-s-lift-me-up-is-a-perfect-tribute-to-chadwick-1849716616

Cowen, T. William. (2022, October 26). Rihanna’s Upcoming ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Song Was Written as Tribute to Chadwick Boseman. Complex. https://www.complex.com/music/rihanna-upcoming-black-panther-wakanda-forever-song-chadwick-boseman-tribute

Swoboda, K. (2022, November 14). La Opinion Today: in Wakanda Forever Mayan music surprises more than one and the Panini album fails its fans. TrendingNews. https://trends.crast.net/la-opinion-today-in-wakanda-forever-mayan-music-surprises-more-than-one-and-the-panini-album-fails-its-fans/