Music Review: Black Panther Soundtrack

Black Panther wants to know…are you on 10 yet?!? If not, you’ll be after listening to the soundtrack to the latest Marvel movie coming out Feb. 16th. Curated and executive produced by Kendrick Lamar TDE Producer Sounwave, this soundtrack has a collection of hits and bangers. Coming in at 14 tracks, Kendrick Lamar is credited for being on 5 of the tracks but in actuality does a hook or ad-libs on all the tracks. Other features include his Black Hippy brethren Jay Rock, Ab-Soul and ScHoolboy Q; SZA, Khalid, Swae Lee of Rae Sremmurd, Mozzy, 2 Chainz, SOB RBE, Vince Staples, The Weeknd and Travis $cott to name a few.

The soundtrack builds really quick by starting with Intro “Black Panther” by Kendrick to set the tone for the album and “All The Stars” another amazing collab from Kendrick and TDE’s Queen, SZA. It then turns up with the Schoolboy Q track “X (Ten)” that features another dope verse from the underrated spitter 2 Chainz, an opening verse from South African rapper Saudi and a hook by Kendrick Lamar. I knew this track was a banger when I heard Schoolboy Q say in his verse “Ni**a, December been good to me/Not even Kendrick can humble me” which is a play off the hit “Humble” from Kendrick’s recent album DAMN.

“X” is then followed by “The Ways” from Khalid and Swae Lee whose vocals are sounding as amazing as ever and should have folks yearning for his solo debut album Swaecation that’s set to arrive soon. After that is “Opps” from Vince Staples and Yugen Blakrok which should be a hit across the seas and in the EDM world. Other standout tracks include “Paramedic!” from the young west coast squad SOB RBE and an uncredited verse from Kendrick. These guys are set to release their debut this year and this track is a definite boost to their career and will bring them more ears and hopefully dollars.

Then there is “King’s Dead” from Jay Rock, Future, James Blake and Kendrick, which would be a 10 if it wasn’t for the bridge section from Future where he switches up his voice to page homage to 3-6 Mafia with a “Slob On My Knob” reference. The album finishes off with “Seasons” from west coast artists Mozzy and Reasons, “Big Shot” by Kendrick and Travis $cott and the closer “Pray For Me” from Kendrick and The Weeknd which isn’t the best from The Weeknd but closes the album nicely. Overall this album may not be a “10”, it definitely is strong 8 and after checking it out the only thing left to ask is in preparation for the “Black Panther” movie this week is Are you on 10 Yet??

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