Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is set to hit our screens next week and the soundtrack for the movie has dropped today. Some of SA’s favourite artists feature on it as amapiano has officially made it into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The first single released off the soundtrack marked Rihanna’s return to music after a six year hiatus. “Lift Me Up” shattered radio and streaming records, earning the singer her biggest streaming day of all time on Spotify with 25 million listens in one day.
A week later the rest of the album’s been released. Similar to the first movie’s soundtrack, there are a host of African artists featuring. Where Black Panther had Babes Wodumo’s “Wololo” bring gqom to the MCU, Wakanda Forever has amapiano making a dominant entry. Two of the tracks on the album feature five South African artists: DBN Gogo, Sino Msolo, Kamo Mphela, Young Stunna, and Busiswa. Zikode Records‘ Unlimited Soul and Elton K also produced the tracks.
The first amapiano song on the album, “Love & Loyalty (Believe)”, follows up Rihanna’s “Lift Me Up” while the second one, “Jele”, is towards its tail end. Recorded in five countries, the soundtrack is heavy on Nigerian and Mexican artists. The fictional country Wakanda is situated near West Africa and Wakanda Forever’s villain, Namor, is inspired by Aztec culture and mythology. It’s through this lens that Ludwig Göransson and Ryan Coogler executive produced the album, lending itself to traditional sounds of both regions.
While we wait for the movie to premiere, take a listen to the soundtrack of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever below:
