31 Oct Ryan Coogler Explains How Rihanna’s “Lift Me Up” Came Together

Ryan Coogler, the director of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, discussed how Rihanna’s song for the soundtrack, “Lift Me Up,” came together at a recent press event attended by Screen Rant. Coogler says that he wanted an artist who could speak to the “feeling of motherhood.”

“Look, Rihanna has given us a whole career and a whole catalog of music,” Coogler began. “And now she’s given us makeup and clothing, and I think the world would understand if she hung up her mic. I completely understand because I love her music so much, but I feel like she’s given all that you could ask for. But the truth is we were looking for a great artist who could tell the story of the film, embrace the themes of the film, and present them to the audience in a different packaging. That’s what Kendrick did so beautifully with the first film, and this film is different. It made sense that it would be a woman, and it made sense that it would be someone who could speak to not necessarily the words but the feeling of motherhood, because that’s a major theme in this film.”

LOS ANGELES, CA – JANUARY 04: Director Ryan Coogler attends the 19th Annual AFI Awards at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on January 4, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for AFI)

He continued: “And I think it timed up that she was in that kind of space in her life, and she was open. It was really the trailer, I think, when she saw the performances that everybody was putting down. That was what kind of put her over the edge and [made her] say, ‘Hey, I want to see this film. I want to see if I can figure this out.’ …But the truth is, once she played us the record, she said straight up, ‘I did this for Chad.’ It was him, man. And sitting here thinking about it, it’s hitting me right now… Chad brought us all together, you know what I mean? He just keeps on and keeps on giving. I’m just really thankful that Rihanna was the latest gift to join the family, and I can’t wait for folks to see how it’s used in the film.”

The comments from Coogler come ahead of the imminent release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which is scheduled to hit theaters on November 11.

Rihanna shared her song from the soundtrack, last week, landing her back on HotNewHipHop’s weekly “R&B Season” playlist.

Check out Rihanna’s “Lift Me Up” below.

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