HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 26: Letitia Wright attends Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther 2: Wakanda … [+]
With its massive success at the box office, widespread critical acclaim, and a devoted fan base, Black Panther has cemented itself as an iconic brand in pop culture. The films have both been massive box office successes, and the music is also similarly beloved. From Kendrick Lamar’s groundbreaking soundtrack for the first film to Ludwig Göransson’s score for the sequel, the music of Black Panther has been just as integral to its success as the story and the action.
Few people realize, however, just how difficult the creation process was for all this music and the herculean effort that went into making it a reality.
“I’ve done 140 movies in my career,” started Dave Jordan, Marvel’s main music creative and the music supervisor on all of the giant’s titles, including Black Panther, before he continued by adding, “This is easily the most complicated movie I’ve ever done.” This sentiment is echoed by Göransson, who is creatively in charge of both the score and the soundtrack. The multi-hyphenate won an Oscar for the first movie’s score and is currently up for Best Original Song for “Lift Me Up” from the sequel alongside Tems, director/writer Ryan Coogler, and singer Rihanna.
As Göransson returned for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, it was clear that his ambitions were even greater. While he visited Africa for inspiration the first time, this project took him to both a new nation on the continent – Nigeria – and Mexico. The second film in the series deals with those two cultures, and they’re both represented in the movie and the music. But if the team was to do that right, they had to have the resources and time to do so, and Disney provided.
Göransson himself stated that respecting the cultures featured was “the most important part” of the musical process. “I just want to be able to help tell their story as best as I can,” he explained during an interview.
Early on in the musical creation process, Göransson, Coogler, and Jordan didn’t know exactly what the music would sound like or even how much would be made. At times, they discussed a soundtrack that was half African and half Mesoamerican. They also talked about two full albums of original material. But Göransson began organically mixing the music that was being made, bringing artists from both cultures onto the same song and blending influences when appropriate.
They all decided on this direction, and Göransson worked overtime to complete these far-reaching projects. During the day, he recorded the musicians scoring the film, and at night, he was joined in the studio by artists who were writing, singing, playing, and even rapping.
The Swedish musician – whom Jordan refers to as a “genius” and a “once in a generational guy” – insisted on authenticity, which required a lot of extra work. In Mexico, they partnered with musical archaeologists who helped them understand the ancient instruments that were once used in that land. At one point, Göransson also decided he wanted someone to rap in Mayan, so they had to track that rare find down and record with him ASAP.
But all of this traveling and working with artists from different parts of the world presented unique problems. “Some of these people don’t read or speak English,” Jordan explained. “And the laws are different in every country.” The fact that they were writing and recording original music, as opposed to simply licensing tunes that were already out in the world, only added to the complexity.
Before Coogler began shooting, Göransson had thoughts about bringing back ideas and themes introduced in the first movie, but that all changed when the Black Panther himself, Chadwick Boseman, passed away. The composer instead realized that much of the music needed to be about that tragedy.
“One of the main throughlines of the movie is grief,” he revealed during our interview. If you watch the film and listen carefully, there is a focus on dealing with that pain and also on rebirth. Certain snippets that were associated with Boseman were only used when his body was being put to rest and then later when the new Black Panther rose. A woman’s voice is present in certain times, signifying motherhood and strong women, who are the ones who deal most directly with grief and power through it.
Ultimately, the score and soundtrack that accompany the box office smash were well-received, though not quite as huge as the first time around. Thankfully, commercial success was no one’s main goal. Jordan insisted that despite the chatting hits, the sales, and the accolades earned a few years back, everyone involved–including Marvel–only wanted the music to do one thing with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: “serve the film.”
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2023/03/10/the-complexity-of-the-music-of-black-panther-wakanda-forever-explained-by-the-team-who-made-it-happen/