After Marvel Studios seemingly confirmed that new music from Rihanna would appear in the upcoming film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the artist herself tweeted Wednesday that she will release the single “Lift Me Up” from the soundtrack on Friday, Oct. 28. Rihanna’s tweet came with a corresponding video that shows the letter ‘R’ designed like the Black Panther uniform on a black background. A short snippet of humming plays in the background, with Rihanna’s name appearing on the left side and the name of the song on the right (Marvel’s initial tweet had showed a clip of the movie’s title that also zeroed in on a ‘R’ and the same release date).
According to Variety, “Lift Me Up” was “written as a tribute to the life and legacy of Chadwick Boseman” by Tems, Oscar winner Ludwig Göransson, Rihanna and Ryan Coogler. Boseman, who famously played T’Challa, died of colon cancer in 2020. The sequel film is set for release on November 11th.
The first Black Panther film was released in 2018 with Kendrick Lamar serving as the executive producer of that film’s soundtrack. The first film also featured music from Schoolboy Q, 2 Chainz, The Weeknd, and Travis Scott.
“Lift Me Up” will mark Rihanna’s first solo material in nearly seven years, aside from a guest spot on PartyNextDoor’s 2020 single ‘Believe It’. The singer last released the album ‘Anti’ in 2006, and she’ll return to the stage to headline the Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show in February 2023.
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