For those new to the word, a leitmotif is ‘a recurrent theme throughout a musical or literary composition, associated with a particular person, idea, or situation’. Let’s just take a detour and talk about how Göransson’s score uses leitmotifs. Similarly, tracks from Kendrick’s album are played throughout the movie: ‘Opps’ (used in the car chase scene), ‘Pray for Me’ (used in the entrance scene to the Korean casino) and ‘All the Stars’ (used in the credits). Kendrick’s companion album incorporates lots of these snippets from the original film score composed by Ludwig Göransson. Keen Black Panther fans will recognise a familiar leitmotif right at the end of ‘King’s Dead’: the ‘chu chu chu’ (or ‘yipping’) is associated with Okoye and the Dora Milaje. Also, towards the end of ‘King’s Dead’ the lyrics deal with absent fathers, reclaiming what is rightfully yours and overthrowing a regime-it has Killmonger written all over it. ‘Paramedic!’ and ‘King’s Dead’ even seem to be from Killmonger’s perspective the titles of both relate to the action in the film (Killmonger actually calls for a paramedic in his first scene in the museum). Songs such as ‘Black Panther’, ‘Paramedic!’, ‘King’s Dead’ and ‘Seasons’ make direct references to T’Challa and Killmonger. The latter three artists perform in Zulu, heard on ‘X’, ‘Seasons’ and ‘Redemption’, further fusing the album with themes and cultures found in the film.Īll of the tracks are explicitly connected to the content of the film characters are mentioned and leitmotifs are used throughout. Unsurprisingly then, the album features roster artists such as ScHoolboy Q, SZA and Jay Rock as well as less exposed South African artists such as Saudi, Sjava and Babes Wodumo.
Therefore, when Coogler and his team were thinking about making ‘a soundtrack that was like a companion piece’, Kendrick seemed like a perfect fit… they weren’t wrong.īlack Panther the Album: Music From and Inspired By was produced and curated by Kendrick alongside his label Top Dawg Entertainment. He is a phenomenal live artist whose performances are frequently politically charged-take a look at his 2016 Grammy performance (you can thank me later). Nowhere is this clearer than his 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly, with tracks such as ‘Alright’ and ‘The Blacker the Berry’ receiving praise for tackling complex racial issues of police brutality and heritage. Throughout his career the Compton-born rapper, sometimes known as Kung Fu Kenny, has used his music as a site of resistance to explore racism, inequality and gun violence. When the album was first announced, Coogler commented that Kendrick’s ‘artistic themes align with those we explore in the film’. Among many other things, the film deals with succession, identity, African culture and, through the complex character of Erik Killmonger, African diaspora. It follows the newly appointed king T’Challa as he becomes the nation’s next Black Panther, struggling with outside powers who want to exploit their resource of vibranium (an extraordinary metal found only in Wakanda).
#Black panther theme music movie#
Not only is this album sonically phenomenal (seriously, it’s compiled of nothing but bangers) but it shares a really interesting relationship with the movie’s themes and motifs.ĭirected by Ryan Coogler, Black Panther is a Marvel superhero movie that takes the fictional African nation of Wakanda as its central focus. However, this post focuses on film inspiring music, specifically Kendrick Lamar’s Black Panther the Album: Music From and Inspired By. blockbuster biopics such as Straight Outta Compton or Bohemian Rhapsody).
They can strengthen each other (such as music videos or film scores) and influence each other (e.g.
It shouldn’t be surprising that music and film have a long and close relationship. Claire takes a deep dive into the music of Black Panther and discovers how Kendrick Lamar’s soundtrack helped bring Wakanda to life.
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