On Friday, February 9, 2018, the soundtrack for Black Panther dropped in anticipation of the the upcoming Friday release for the much buzzed about film. It’s what you’d expect from Kendrick Lamar, which means it’s brilliant. As an elite curator of the music business’ best, Lamar’s name goes hand-in-hand with what I can only hope is a cultural shift to a more diverse, creative cinema space. Black Panther is about empowerment, and no one represents empowerment better than Kendrick Lamar. The soundtrack is produced by Top Dawn Entertainment and Kendrick Lamar, with some brilliant collaborations, including SZA, The Weeknd, ScHoolboy Q, 2 Chainz, Ab-Soul, Future, Zacari, Vince Staples, Anderson.Paak, Mozzy, Babes Wodumo, SOB x RBE and South African vocalist Sjava singing in Zulu.
The movie follows T’Challa, who returns home to Wakanda following the death of his father, who was King. He succeeds the throne of the isolated, technologically advanced African nation, but when a powerful old enemy reappears, the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. The young king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and secure the safety of his people. Black Panther stars Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, with Angela Bassett, with Forest Whitaker, and Andy Serkis. The film is directed by Ryan Coogler, who also wrote the screenplay with Joe Robert Cole.
According to Ryan Coogler, he originally envisioned Kendrick Lamar contributing a few songs to the soundtrack, but when Lamar viewed the film, he wanted to create the entire album. To stream the record, click HERE.