Rihanna dropped her first single in six years on Thursday night: ‘Lift Me Up’, the first track to emerge from Marvel’s blockbuster sequel ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’.
A tribute to the life and legacy of Chadwick Boseman, the song was written by Nigerian singer-songwriter Tems, Rihanna, top film composer Ludwig Goransson and director Ryan Coogler. It is one of two songs from the film, which premieres in UAE theatres on November 11.
Few other details have been released about the song, or the soundtrack album that Rihanna is said to be curating in a manner similar to the way Kendrick Lamar helmed the first film’s album.
“After speaking with Ryan and hearing his direction for the film and the song, I wanted to write something that portrays a warm embrace from all the people that I’ve lost in my life,” Tems said in a statement. “I tried to imagine what it would feel like if I could sing to them now and express how much I miss them.”
She added: “Rihanna has been an inspiration to me so hearing her convey this song is a great honour.”
Rihanna has made just a handful of featured appearances in the years since her last album, 2016’s ‘Anti’ — most notably features on N.E.R.D.’s ‘Lemon’, which she briefly performed with Pharrell at her Diamond Ball in New York in 2019; Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Loyalty’ and Future’s ‘Selfish’ — yet in February she will be the halftime performer on the world’s largest stage for a musician, the Super Bowl, notes Variety.
There has been talk for years about her working on two different albums, one a dancehall-leaning set, but she has provided virtually no details and no music has materialised or leaked.
