Rihanna is back in her music with her first single in over six years. Her new song “Lift Me Up” is part of the soundtrack for the upcoming Marvel movie Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. A song about her loss and growth, the song is a moving tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman, who starred in her first Black Panther movie. He passed away in 2020.
Rihanna debuted the song on YouTube and her Spotify on Friday afternoon. There’s no video for the song yet, but the singer shared a short 34-second teaser video showing scenes from the movie and herself playing the song in the background on the beach. The song is from the perspective of someone who has lost a loved one in her life. In the film, he’s meant to be the grieving King of Wakanda, T’Challa (Chadwick), but his obvious real-life resemblance is to the actor himself.
The song is reportedly one of two tracks on the film’s soundtrack, the other being also recorded by Rihanna. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is part of Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and hits theaters November 11th.