Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Music from and Inspired By)

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a compilation of music from and inspired by the 2022 Marvel film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

The soundtrack for the first film, Black Panther: The Album, was released under Kendrick Lamar, The Weeknd & SZA’s names, this sequel record features over 40 artists provenient from Africa and Mesoamerica and credits Rihanna & Tems as the lead artists.

The lead single, “Lift Me Up,” interpreted by Rihanna, was released on October 28, 2022. The barbadian singer features another track on the film and compilation, “Born Again”, which can be heard during the film end credits.

This second film touches the topics of grief and loss. Chadwick Boseman, who played T'Challa/Black Panther on the Marvel Universe, passed away in 2020 shocking the world. Ludwig Göransson, executive producer of the soundtrack, says:

Ryan [Coogler] and I talked about the importance of creating an immersive journey of sound and voice. If we used a song in the film, we wanted it to be the entire song, and to be connected to the story. Thematically, we wanted to move the audience from grief to celebration. When you listen to the soundtrack, you can close your eyes and relive the experience of the movie. That was the intention.

A prologue EP was released on July 25, 2022, featuring three tracks, one of them being “No Woman No Cry” by Tems, which was also featured on the teaser trailer for the movie. The two other songs aren’t part of the official soundtrack.

The soundtrack was released on November 4, 2022, a week prior to the release of the film though Hollywood Records, Def Jam Recordings & Roc Nation.