Initially enchanted by lead single “All the Stars,” with its tribal drum beat and dazzling Afrocentric music video, I’ve been bumping the Kendrick Lamar-curated Black Panther soundtrack all week. The song (which features SZA) is a worthy representative of the rest of the album—and, as I’d hoped, it came on right as Black Panther’s end credits rolled for the audience to enjoy as we waited for the sequel-teasing stingers.
In addition to producing original music for the album, Kung Fu Kenny appears on roughly half of the 14 tracks. After seeing the latest Marvel installment (and discovering how unapologetically Black it is), Lamar’s integral involvement in the movie’s music makes even more sense. There’s a humming tribal undercurrent throughout the album, with African beats, chants, and various verbal references to Wakanda and other elements of Black Panther. Lamar is famous for his unconventional use of jazz influences and artists on his critically acclaimed album To Pimp a Butterfly; here, he incorporates a variety of styles and artists on the track list.