Rihanna is back with her first single in six years.
The ‘Diamonds’ hitmaker, whose last solo release was her 2016 LP ‘ANTI’, has returned with the moving ballad ‘Lift Me Up’ for the ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ soundtrack.
The slow-burner is a touching tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman – T’Challa in the 2018 original film – who passed away following a secret battle with cancer in 2020 at the age of 43.
The movie’s director and writer Ryan Coogler received a co-writing credit along with Beyonce and Drake’s songwriter Tems and producer Ludwig Göransson.
Tems 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.”
Rihanna was Coogler’s first choice for the soundtrack.
The new mother was the perfect fit because motherhood is a big theme in the Marvel flick, and they were “looking for artists who would embody it thematically.”
He said this week: “Rihanna, man, we knew she was at a point in her life as well where she was focusing on different things — focused on business, motherhood, which is a big theme in our film. We were holding out hope that maybe it could work out and boy did it for this song.
“I can’t wait for people to hear it.”
The 34-year-old singer gave birth to her first child, a baby boy, with A$AP Rocky in May.
The film hits cinemas on November 11, stream ‘Lift Me Up’ on all major streaming services now.