Album Review: “Black Panther: The Album”

Michael B. Jordan, Chadwick Boseman, and Sydelle Noel in "Black Panther." Photo by Marvel

There is no great superhero without a good tune to follow his deeds. Black Panther is no different, with his solo movie bringing us a unique and exploding soundtrack titled Black Panther: The Album, which was detailed and produced by the Grammy Award-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar alongside the head of Top Dawg Entertainment label, Anthony ‘Top Dawg’ Tiffith.

Kendrick is surely one of the most ambitious and successful rappers on today’s music scene, and his enormous potential is evident on the five tracks in which he is featured on this soundtrack. He opens up the album with a hammer track called “Black Panther,” where he channels his inner conflicts and burdens of being a leader of people. Lyrics are accompanied by a powerful beat which sinks well with the weight of his words. Then he teams up with Jay Rock, Future and James Blake on “King’s Dead,” which represents almost a sequel to the first track. Together they work as a movie narrative, which is pretty awesome when you look at it.

However, not all tracks are hardcore rap that we are used to hearing from Lamar. Black Panther: The Album also experiments with pop-friendly vibes. This is probably due to a fact that movie needs to appeal to wider audience, so a mainstream hit is a necessity after all. Such is the track All The Stars which features Kendrick and SZA. Although it might come off a bit mellow and as a song you’ve heard numerous times before, it will surely find its audience. The last track Pray For Me” with Kendrick and The Weeknd may be appealing to the casual and The Weeknd fans, but it isn’t something hip-hop fans will think of highly. ‘Big Shot’ featuring Kendrick and Travis Scott can be viewed as experimental for Lamar, and although it might seem like a misfire, the song is catchy and might grow on you with time.

When it comes to the songs on Black Panther: The Album which doesn’t feature Kendrick Lamar, you should pay attention to “X” (Schoolboy Q, 2 Chainz, and Saudi), “Opps” (Vince Staples and Yugen Blakrok), and “Bloody Waters” (Ab-Soul, Anderson Paak and James Blake) where you will find plenty of good rap.

Overall, the album is satisfying, with positive certainly outweighing the negative. It is surely a worthy soundtrack to accompany a superhero like Black Panther and the rap-centric album fits nicely in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆