After six years of no Rihanna singles, the wait is finally over with the Barbados-born artist dropping her new song ‘Lift Me Up’.
Listen to the track below.
Here's how RiRi fans have reacted to the song so far.
‘Lift Me Up’ will be a part of the soundtrack for the upcoming Marvel movie ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’, the sequel to the 2018 Oscar-winning ‘Black Panther’.
It’s the first song Rihanna is the lead singer on since she released ‘Sledgehammer’ back in 2016. She’s featured on great tracks like DJ Khaled’s ‘Wild Thoughts’ and Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Loyalty’ since then, but we have not been treated to the full Riri treatment in more than half a decade, but that ended today.
Nigerian singer Tems, as well as producer Ludwig Göransson and the film’s director Ryan Cooglre all helped Rihanna put the track together.
In a press release, the group said the song “was written as a tribute to the extraordinary life and legacy of Chadwick Boseman”. Boseman passed away in 2020.
Cast members for ‘Wakanda Forever’ have spoken about how much he has influenced the upcoming film, with Angela Basset saying “Chadwick was with us every step of the way” during filming.
Tems says that as well as paying tribute to Boseman, the track will recognise people close to her that she has lost.
“After speaking with Ryan and hearing his direction for the film and the song, I wanted to write something that portrays a warm embrace from all the people that I’ve lost in my life,” she said.
“I tried to imagine what it would feel like if I could sing to them now and express how much I miss them. Rihanna has been an inspiration to me so hearing her convey this song is a great honour.”
