Rihanna is all set to return to music after six years, and it has now been reported that the singer’s debut single is all set to be a part of Marvel’s upcoming blockbuster, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The song, named “Lift Me Up,” is all scheduled to be released on October 28. It was verified by Rihanna herself when she uploaded a post on social media.
Fans have long timelong timeg for Rihanna to release new music, and her Black Panther sequel trackwilll also happen to be her first release since becoming a mother. Rihanna and A$AP Rocky welcomed their newborn child earlier thisyear,r in May. While the singer had suggested before that shewouldl be delivering new music soon in interviews, it came as a surprise that Rihann hads partnered with Marvel for her upcoming track.
Lift Me Up
The new track has been titled “Lift Me Up” and will be released on Friday. It is Rihanna’s first musical debut since 2016, and has been described as “a homage to the incredible life and legacy of Chadwick Boseman.” Boseman, who starred as protagonist Black Panther as King T’Challa in the first film as well as appeared in the Avengers flicks, died in 2020 following a battle with cancer. The Black Panther sequel will pay a touching tribute to the late actor, and the upcoming song has a special meaning in the film.The song was created with Nigerian singer-songwriter Tems and produced by Ludwig Göransson, and Black Panther director Ryan Coogler.
Marvel Announcement
After suspicions had been doing the rounds about Rihanna’s musical comeback and its relation to Marvel, the studio also confirmed the same with a teaser video of the upcoming track as it centered on the R, standing for Rihanna. This marks Rihanna’s return to music after focusing on her business. During the same period last year, the artist also became a billionaire.Rihanna recently released her album, Anti, in 2016 and the wait is finally coming to an end.
A Chadwick Boseman Tribute
The song will pay a tribute to late actor Chadwick Boseman. According to the song co-writer on Terms, the song, “After chatting with Ryan and hearing his vision for the film and the song, I wanted to compose something that represents a warm hug from all the individuals who I’ve lost in my life. I tried to envision what it would feel like if I could sing to them today and explain how much I miss them.” Speaking about collaborating with Rihanna, he further noted, “Rihanna has been an inspiration to me, so hearing her perform this song is a huge pleasure.”
Previously, in a video posted by Marvel, the cast of the film also lamented Boseman’s loss and working on the sequel without him. Actor Winston Duke aka M’Bakku commented, “We all suffered a great loss when we lost Chadwick.” The film’s director Ryan Coogler then also mentioned how Boseman was a “artistic collaborator” to him while working on the first film. Coogler added that the two would indulge in chats about where they wanted the tale to go and how much Chadwick respected other characters.
Wakanda Forever, Black Panther
While the trailers and ads for the Black Panther sequel have been released, they haven’t revealed the enigma connected to Boseman’s character. While we get a look of the new Black Panther in the trailer, the identity of the superhero has been kept under wraps. Many feel that Letitia Wright, who played the character of Chadwick Boseman’s sister Shuri in the previous film, will take on the burden of becoming the next Black Panther. While Letitia Wright hasn’t announced if she will portray Black Panther, the actress recently spoke about devoting every scene in the film to her late co-star.
As for the plot of the upcoming film, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira) and the Dora Milaje (including Florence Kasumba) will be seen fighting to protect their nation from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. The heroes will be joining together with the help of Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) to carve a new path for the kingdom of Wakanda. The film will also introduce new characters such as Tenoch Huerta Meja as Namor, monarch of a hidden undersea realm. The film also stars Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, Mabel Cadena, and Alex Livinalli.
