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After six years since her last solo single, Rihanna has made a return to music with “Life Me Up,” from the soundtrack of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
The song, written by Rihanna, Tems, Ludwig Goransson, and Black Panther director Ryan Coogler, is a tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman who passed away in 2020 following a private battle with colon cancer.
The song plays like an angelic ballad with the lyrics “lift me up, hold me down, keep me close, safe and sound,” repeated throughout the track.
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“Rihanna was at the top of the list,” director Ryan Coogler said when discussions were taking place on which artists would be able to “work with the film’s thematics.”
Ryan Coogler says @Rihanna is the perfect artist to represent #BlackPanther: #WakandaForever thematically pic.twitter.com/6nySqXpoZD
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) October 27, 2022
With all of the different ventures the 34-year-old billionaire is involved in, such as becoming the next NFL’s Super Bowl halftime performer, running her beauty brand Fenty, and recently having her first child, Wakanda Forever director Ryan Coogler knew that it would be a tough ask to get Rihanna on the soundtrack, especially since it’s been over five years since she last released music.
Ryan Coogler knew it would be tough to get @Rihanna to work on a new song for #BlackPanther: #WakandaForever pic.twitter.com/sIRtaZ9xld
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) October 27, 2022
“We knew she was at a point in her life where she was focused on different things,” Coogler said. “So we were holding on to hope that maybe it could work out, and boy did it.”
Rihanna was present at the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever world premiere in Hollywood this week, one of the biggest events of the year.
Rihanna and A$AP Rocky at the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever premiere pic.twitter.com/VT6UtpCNIZ
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) October 27, 2022
“It’s big for me as well,” the nine-time Grammy award winner said. “I’m honored to be a part of this.”