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'Black Panther' soundtrack Black History Month spotlight, 2018

Photos: WireImage.com

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'Black Panther: The Album': 7 Facts To Know marvel-these-7-facts-about-black-panther-album-black-history-month

Marvel At These 7 Facts About 'Black Panther: The Album' | Black History Month

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The official soundtrack to one of the most anticipated blockbuster movies of the year is teed up to be a monolithic release in its own right — here's what you need to know about 'Black Panther: The Album'
Brian Haack
GRAMMYs
Feb 15, 2018 - 5:35 pm

Marvel's latest blockbuster motion picture Black Panther comes out on Feb. 16, and it's already shaping up to be one of the most anticipated films of the year. While certainly not the first comic book film to star a black superhero, the film's production team, cast and crew represent a historic elevation of black talent.

Director and co-writer Ryan Coogler's vision has brought together a spectacular group of actors and creators behind the film — and that extends to the soundtrack as well.

In the weeks leading up to the film's release, Black Panther: The Album has grown to occupy almost as much of the cultural zeitgeist as the movie itself, especially given the triplicate curatorial, artistic and production roles that multi-GRAMMY winner Kendrick Lamar took on in helming the project.

In light of the record-setting opening weekend that Black Panther is expecting, take a look at seven things you need to know about the Top Dawg Entertainment -showcasing soundtrack.

Make No Mistake, This Is A Kendrick Lamar Album

When Coogler originally approached Lamar, his best-case scenario hope was to convince the Compton, Calif., rapper to create a few songs for the soundtrack. "Eventually I caught up with him a couple years ago … and just spoke about much his music affected me," Coogler told NPR. "We said if the opportunity comes, we'd love to work with each other on something." However, once Coogler circled back last year to show off some of the footage, Lamar — then fresh from finishing his latest GRAMMY-winning LP, DAMN. — dove in and expressed interest in curating the full soundtrack album. The end result: While he is only officially credited as a featured artist on five of the album's 14 tracks, careful listeners will note that Lamar is vocally present on every single track on the album. He also co-wrote every track.

A Global Effort

While Coogler's casting and crew selection serve to publicly elevate some of the best talents in black cinema, so too does Lamar's soundtrack incorporate rising stars and established legends from both mainstream U.S. and niche international genres. To wit, the album as a whole incorporates artists from three continents, meandering through the sounds of stateside rap, London's particular brands of R&B and Afro-soul, as well as African pop music and gqom — an uptempo, stomp-heavy type of minimal house music similar to Chicago footwork that is currently sweeping through parts of South Africa. As Sheldon Pearce wrote for Pitchfork, "The album is a sampler of the film's broader vision of black excellence."

The Sonic Chemistry Is There

The oftentimes clear and present danger in merging a hotly anticipated major motion picture release with an all-star soundtrack is that the resulting music comes out as a schizophrenic mish-mash of styles and genres in an attempt to lure in fans from all sides. Thankfully, whether it is Khalid and Swae Lee pairing sooth R&B hooks with professionally-spit trap verse work, or Babes Wodumo bringing gqom vibes to match Lamar's "secret weapon" Zacari's trademark airy vocal rhythms, sonic dysfunction is not the case with Black Panther: The Album. As Craig Jenkis at Vulture pointed out, "[The album] recognizes that the key to a good soundtrack is good chemistry, not just noteworthy names, but for good measure, it delivers on both."

Lamar Checks One Off The List

Black Panther

Respect to all the artist/producers that allowed me to execute a sound for the soundtrack.

The concept of producing and composing a project other than my own has always been ideal

I appreciate the experience love ones

Continue to be great

— Kendrick Lamar (@kendricklamar) February 11, 2018

There's a clear case to be made that Lamar is a true musical auteur. Across his three most recent solo artist albums — each an instant classic in its own right — his control of the interpolation between rhythm, narrative, vocal flow, and social context has developed in a manner that denotes clear artistic intent of each piece. In relating the history of To Pimp A Butterfly, co-engineer/mixer Derek "MixedByAli" Ali revealed, "[Kendrick] incorporated everything that was going on [in Africa] and in his life to complete a million-piece puzzle." Meanwhile, Lamar explained that his follow-up album, DAMN., was "all pieces of me." In following repeated successful artistic achievements, there is surely a desire to flex and extend the limits of one's craft, and in recent days Lamar has revealed that the chance to helm a musical project as an outside producer and artist has long been a secret goal of his. So consider the Black Panther soundtrack one more item to check of his bucket list.

A Victory Lap For TDE

1st move of 2018. #TDE https://t.co/p49N4tOZEq

— TOP DAWG #TDE (@dangerookipawaa) January 4, 2018

With an impressive collection of 14 nominations and six GRAMMY wins brought home at the 60th GRAMMY Awards between Lamar, SZA and label head Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith, 2017 was a banner year for TDE. And 2018 is already shaping up to be an equally strong follow-up. On top of their forthcoming Championship Tour, set for summer 2018, TDE's role in the Black Panther soundtrack makes it a showcase of sorts for the label's top talents. With strong showings from label signees Ab-Soul, Jay Rock and ScHool Boy Q, as well as SZA and Lamar, the soundtrack tees up a collection of great new tracks for the group to break out on tour, signaling a clear win for the label.

Ludwig Göransson's African Sojourn

Prior to bringing in Lamar to the project, Coogler contracted composer Ludwig Göransson — who contributed heavily to Childish Gambino's Album Of The Year GRAMMY-nominated "Awaken, My Love!" — to assist with the film's orchestral scoring. Göransson's close collaboration with Lamar and Tiffith on the soundtrack's separate production made for a skillful merging of his orchestral compositions with much of the album's more pop-oriented arrangements (most noticeable on the album's opening track, "Black Panther"). The Swedish producer also revealed to Pitchfork that he needed to take time off to "research" and mentally prepare before diving into writing his contributions to the film's score and soundtrack. "It's such a massive movie," Göransson explains. "After I read the script and I started reading the comic, I knew the only way I could do this was to go to Africa and do research. I took a month off and traveled to Senegal."

Black Panther: The Album Is On Track To Debut At No. 1

Even as Black Panther the film is set to smash global box office records with an estimated $165 million opening weekend (which some analysts argue may even be a low-end estimate), Black Panther: The Album is fully expected to conquer the Billboard 200 and take the No. 1 slot, according to Billboard's own estimates. If the soundtrack accomplishes the chart feat, it will be the second official movie soundtrack to do so in 2018, ending the current reign of the score for the whimsical music film The Greatest Showman. Per Billboard's forecast, Black Panther: The Album is expected to bring home as many as 100,000 equivalent album units in its first week of sales — adding chart success on top of the soundtrack's winning combination of musical accomplishment, star power and cultural momentum.

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SZA

SZA

Photo: Presley Ann/Patrick McMullan/Getty Images

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Black Panther Singles Climb Billboard Hot 100 6-singles-black-panther-album-hit-billboard-hot-100

6 Singles From 'Black Panther: The Album' Hit Billboard Hot 100

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"King's Dead" and "Pray For Me" are joined by six newcomers from Wakanda on the latest Billboard Hot 100, led by "All The Stars"
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Feb 21, 2018 - 1:52 pm

As the movie Black Panther and Kendrick Lamar's curated Black Panther: The Album continue to make inroads, more tracks have hit the Billboard Hot 100, while Black Panther: The Album hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for the week ending Feb. 15.

In the most recent tally on Feb. 24, two songs were on the Hot 100 from the previous week — "Pray For Me," combining Lamar with The Weeknd, at No. 11, while "King's Dead" moved from No. 69 up to No. 38, blending Lamar with James Blake, Future and Jay Rock.

Lamar and SZA's "All The Stars" entered the Hot 100 at position No. 9. Its official video was posted on YouTube Feb. 6 and is now up to more than 27 million views. Other tracks making their first appearance include "X" at No. 49 by 2 Chainz, Saudi and Schoolboy Q. This is Saudi's personal debut on the Hot 100.

One of the love songs featured on our recent Valentine's Day playlist, "The Ways" by Khalid and Swae Lee enters at No. 63. SOB X RBE, who just announced they'd be touring with Post Malone, debut on the chart at No. 67 with their powerful "Paramedic!"

The two other Black Panther Hot 100 newcomer tracks are the catchy "Big Shot" at No. 71, with Lamar and Travis Scott, trailed by the lyrical powerhouse "Black Panther" rap of Lamar's at No. 91.

Stay tuned to see what other cultural products of Wakanda explore the Billboard charts on their own.

Catching Up On Music News Powered By The Recording Academy Just Got Easier. Have A Google Home Device? "Talk To GRAMMYs"

SZA

SZA

Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

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Kendrick Lamar & SZA Dazzle in "All The Stars" black-panther-soundtrack-kendrick-lamar-szas-all-stars

'Black Panther' Soundtrack: Kendrick Lamar & SZA's "All The Stars"

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Let Kendrick Lamar and SZA drop "All The Stars" on you as the world braces for more 'Black Panther' beauty Wakanda-style
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Feb 6, 2018 - 3:11 pm

On Jan. 31 Kendrick Lamar posted the tracklist for the Black Panther soundtrack's accompanying music album, and anticipation has been building musically as well as for the movie itself. On Feb. 6 he posted the "All The Stars" official music video on YouTube, with SZA featured. Watch it and you'll be seeing stars in a different way.

The video's taste of the imaginary kingdom of Wakanda and its sensational style will refresh your mind with its beauty and striking visions, including actual black panthers.

The full soundtrack drops this Friday, Feb. 9 and for an impatient week before the movie goes wide on Feb. 16, fans will enjoy the Kendrick Lamar "Black Panther" theme song, his "Big Shot" collaboration with Travis Scott, his "Pray For Me" collabo with The Weeknd, and "Kings Dead" with Jay Rick, Future and James Blake. Other noteworthy contributing artists include 2 Chainz, Khalid, Anderson .Paak, and Schoolboy Q, making this one of the most highly anticipated soundtracks in recent memory.

Catching Up On Music News Powered By The Recording Academy Just Got Easier. Have A Google Home Device? "Talk To GRAMMYs"

Cardi B photographed in 2017

Cardi B

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60th GRAMMYs: Full Performer List 2018-grammys-whos-performing

2018 GRAMMYs: Who's Performing?

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Find out which of your favorite artists are performing on the 60th GRAMMY Awards on Sunday, Jan. 28
Renée Fabian
GRAMMYs
Jan 26, 2018 - 5:30 am

The 60th GRAMMY Awards celebration in New York is quickly approaching. From rolling out the red carpet to tuning the guitars and adjusting the lights at Madison Square Garden, the Recording Academy is getting ready for the big milestone installment of Music's Biggest Night. But how about the performers?

Who's Performing On The 60th GRAMMYs?

Spanning multiple genres, including pop, rock, hip-hop, R&B, country, and more, this year's lineup of GRAMMY performers — many of them current nominees or past winners — will make for three-and-a-half hours of must-see television.

Without further ado, here is the list of performers for the 60th GRAMMYs.

  • Alessia Cara, Khalid and Logic
     
  • Brothers Osborne, Maren Morris and Eric Church (Route 91 Harvest Festival tribute)
     
  • Childish Gambino
  • Gary Clark Jr. and Jon Batiste (Chuck Berry and Fats Domino tribute)
  • Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee with Zuleyka Rivera 
     
  • Emmylou Harris and Chris Stapleton
     
  • Elton John and Miley Cyrus 
     
  • Kesha
     
  • Lady Gaga
     
  • Kendrick Lamar
     
  • Little Big Town
     
  • Patti LuPone and Ben Platt (Broadway tribute)
     
  • Rihanna, DJ Khaled and Bryson Tiller
     
  • Bruno Mars and Cardi B
  • Pink
     
  • Sam Smith
     
  • Sting 
     
  • SZA
     
  • U2

Childish Gambino
60th GRAMMY Awards Performers

Hosted by James Corden, the 60th GRAMMY Awards will take place at Madison Square Garden in New York on Jan. 28, airing live on CBS from 7:30–11 p.m. ET/4:30–8 p.m. PT.

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Listen: New Music From Kendrick Lamar & SZA kendrick-lamar-sza-drop-new-collab-track-black-panther

Kendrick Lamar, SZA Drop New Collab Track For 'Black Panther'

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The new track is both GRAMMY-nominated artists' first new music of 2018
Brian Haack
GRAMMYs
Jan 4, 2018 - 2:12 pm

GRAMMY nominees and Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) label mates Kendrick Lamar and SZA released a brand new track today, destined for the soundtrack of Marvel's forthcoming Black Panther, and produced by Lamar alongside fellow GRAMMY nominee and TDE label boss Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith.

Both Lamar and SZA's first new music – and TDE's first official release – of 2018, "All The Stars" sees the established rapper and breakout singer carrying equal weight, as Lamar's proud, incisive versework tag-teams with SZA's effortless vocal control against a backdrop of icy future synths and a charging backbeat.

The new track is an apt follow-up to a year that was tremendously successful to all three of the track's contributors – 2017 saw the release of Lamar's politically-charged Album Of The Year- and Best Rap Album-nominated Damn. – which altogether generated a total of seven GRAMMY nominated for Lamar, including Record Of The Year, Best Rap Song, and Best Rap/Sung Performance. SZA meanwhile, released her long-awaited and highly anticipated debut album CTRL, which garnered the singer her first five GRAMMY nominations, including Best New Artist.

Black Panther is slated for release on Jan. 16. Lamar and Tiffith are reportedly producing and curating the film's entire soundtrack, to be released via TDE.

Camila Cabello Previews New Songs "All These Years," "She Loves Control"

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Some of the content on this site expresses viewpoints and opinions that are not those of the Recording Academy. Responsibility for the accuracy of information provided in stories not written by or specifically prepared for the Academy lies with the story's original source or writer. Content on this site does not reflect an endorsement or recommendation of any artist or music by the Recording Academy.