What everyone has been anticipating for months is finally here – Black Panther. The movie was prefaced by a soundtrack spearheaded by Kendrick Lamar and the Top Dawg Entertainment group. Black Panther The Album debuted at #1 on Billboard 200 in the first week, and this past weekend the film passed the $1 billion global box office mark. Although many were scared that the hype would pave the way for the movie to be a letdown, the hype was well deserved. Both the album and the movie are masterpieces, and I’m honored to be writing this article about both of them.
Black Panther sets a precedent as the first superhero movie with a superstar black cast, deviating from the common narrative of African-Americans serving as ancillary characters that are predominantly antagonists. The movie carries a heavy West African influence, and when producer Ludwig Göransson was tasked to curate the score he traveled Africa with Senegalese musician Baaba Maal. During Göransson’s time in Africa, he sampled a number of African vocalists and musical instruments to give the score the authentic roots it deserves.
One of the special aspects of the soundtrack is that it not only features established artists like SZA and Travis Scott but also amazing artists just now gaining a following in a mainstream setting. My personal favorite of the album is “I Am” by Jorja Smith. Jorja Smith is mainly known from her feature on Drake’s song “Get It Together” (which is a bop and if you don’t know it I feel bad for you), but “I Am” is a song that stands out on this album. The song features orchestral elements and guitar chords with heavy bass and back beat, creating a large and diverse soundscape that’s extremely impactful. Jorja sings about coming to terms with sacrifice in times of change, and her soulful voice shines through despite the massive musical elements in the background.
Black Panther The Album utilizes segments of the score to create smooth transitions between songs. The transitions combined with very focused individual songs loosely (or directly) based on characters allowed for the story of Black Panther to come to life before the film was even released. The first song of the soundtrack, “Black Panther” is told from the perspective of T’Challa – King of Wakanda in the film. In the song, Kendrick raps about the struggles of being King and closes with “I am T’Challa.” This directly parallels “Paramedic!” by rap group SOBxRBE, a hard-hitting song opening with “I am Killmonger.” Killmonger is the main antagonist of the film. The song plays up Killmonger’s aggressive and fearless character, proclaiming hopes that someone will cross them and if so, “they better call a paramedic in the streets.”
Personally, I believe that Black Panther The Album is the best album of 2018 thus far. Now before you say “uh…what? Absolutely not,” let me explain why. This album not only tells a story, but the production quality is on a whole different level than the typical album. I’m so sick of listening to albums where every single song sounds the same, executed with the same beats and flow like a broken record. This album was executed with a vision – to have a diverse collection of artists with distinctly different sounds and genres create a cohesive story of Wakanda. Stand-alone artists these days can barely create a cohesive album within the one genre they identify with, so kudos to all the artists that are a part of this phenomenal piece of work. The album and the movie both deeply resonate with me, maybe because of my West African heritage. Regardless of who you are, Black Panther and it’s album have set a precedent and made history in the right way. As Jay-Z once said, “men lie, women lie…numbers don’t.”
I could probably write a dissertation about Black Panther and the album, but you have to experience it for yourself. So take a prelim study break and go see Black Panther. Then listen to Black Panther The Album while suffering through your problem set in the Olin basement. Below are my personal favorites from the album, but listen to the album in full to get the experience that the album was curated for.
“Black Panther,” “X,” “The Ways,” “I Am,” “Paramedic!,” “Bloody Waters,” “Big Shot”
Spotify album link:
