Rihanna, ‘Black Panther,’ and the Panic of Anticipation
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The Navy must be losing its mind. Not the marines of the US armed forces, but the internet collective of Rihanna stans, who discovered this week that the singer will be releasing her first song in six years on her soundtrack. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. That Navy is getting what they’ve been craving for so long, even if it’s not her long-awaited 9th album, called #R9.
Funny thing, predict. (Or Rocky Horror Picture Show fans, antici — pation.) While Rihanna stans have been waiting for a new album since 2016 ANTIMarvel fans have been waiting for the sequel to Black Panther since it was released in early 2018. That wait has become even longer and more painful after his sudden death. Manipulate star Chadwick Boseman in 2020. On Wednesday, when it was reported that Rihanna’s new song, “Lift Me Up,” is out today, it will be a tribute to Boseman, hopefully the song. will reach new levels.
Apparently, it’s a sin to want something too much. Fear of patchy jinxing. Expectations for greatness show faith in the artist, but great expectations are too easily dashed. A song meant to herald the return of one of the biggest pop stars of the 21st century and mourn the loss of one of its greatest actors is a huge feat. Then again, if anyone can do it, it’s Rihanna, especially since she’s on a song written by Wakanda Forever director Ryan Coogler, star of Afrobeats Tems, and Oscar-winning Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson. Black Panther scored.
Previously, music dropped on Tuesdays, movies premiered on Fridays, and TV shows premiered in the fall. Some of that, especially the movie release part, still holds true, but with streaming and other digital media services, everything is now about the art of surprising. Ever since Netflix started dropping entire TV seasons at once and Beyoncé begins releasing full albumsWith images that seem unreal, fans are so used to never knowing when the next earth-shattering release will come.