On Friday 24th October, ‘Lift Me Up’ was released as the lead single for the soundtrack of the highly anticipated movie, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which was released in cinemas on Friday 11th November in the UK. ‘Lift Me Up’ can be described as a soft ballad, with the addition of harps, harmonies, and layered humming within the backing vocals offering the song a calming and reminiscent tone.
Upon my first listen, after the initial excitement of hearing Rihanna’s voice on a new song had worn off, I was honestly left feeling underwhelmed. Rihanna is known as the princess of pop, with her last album ‘Anti’ having a completely different feel – more rugged, alternative R&B, pop, and at times indie. This track is clearly a deviation from her last project and though it was a heartfelt tribute for the late Chadwick Boseman, with the very apparent maturity in her voice evidencing this, her long departure from the music scene had caused me to envisage a piece that was more than just merely pretty sounding. I was hoping for something more powerful and less comparable to a lullaby- especially considering the massive hype surrounding the Black Panther sequel.
Nonetheless, upon listening to the song within the context of the movie, the ‘lullaby’ nature was definitely appropriate, striking the listener with way more emotion and impact than when released as a single. If the movie and its influence is set aside and the music element is considered separately, the new Rihanna track ‘Born Again’ which was showcased in the final credits of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, is a better reflection of what would be expected from a song of hers, in light of her current discography. In comparison, ‘Lift Me Up’ is basic, replaceable by many other artists within the industry without the overall composition and execution of the track being altered much. However, having someone as influential and respected as Rihanna to perform Boseman’s tribute is undoubtedly fitting given the impact he had.
Does this mark the return of Rihanna on the music scene?
Although it’s been 6 years since Rihanna released her last album ‘Anti’, she has brought many gems to the world such as the notable Fenty Beauty, Savage x Fenty and Fenty Skin. However, the one thing fans have been eager to know is when she will finally release another project. With her inclusion in the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack and news of her headlining the Super Bowl halftime show generating great hope amongst fans and buzz within the industry, it is rational to believe that her musical engagement in such monumental moments would surely ease her comeback. However, in a recent interview for the Savage x Fenty Volume 4 show, she stated- “Super Bowl is one thing, new music is another thing… I do have new music coming out, but we’ll see… unrelated.”
While she is making slight dips into the music scene, it doesn’t seem like we’re fully going to be out of the Rihanna drought any time soon.
Written by: Michele Ngue-Awane
Edited by: Harsheni Maniarasan