V/A: Black Panther: Music from and Inspired By (2LP, soundtrack, 180g) [INTERSCOPE]

Why you'll love it

This 180g 2LP set has an etched fourth side, a gatefold jacket and a numbered, embossed lithograph. The album went straight to No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

This edition

• 2LP set
• 180g vinyl
• Gatefold jacket
• Etched fourth side
• Numbered embossed lithograph

About the album

Director Ryan Coogler asked Kendrick Lamar for a few songs. Lamar watched an early cut of the film and decided a few songs would not do, so he curated an entire album, working with producer Sounwave on tour and finishing tracks with a long list of collaborators against a tight deadline.

"All the Stars" with SZA is the big, starry centrepiece, "King's Dead" pairs Jay Rock, Future and James Blake, and "Pray for Me" teams Lamar with The Weeknd. "X" brings ScHoolboy Q, 2 Chainz and Saudi together, "Opps" features Vince Staples and Yugen Blakrok, and "Big Shot" adds Travis Scott. Composer Ludwig Göransson worked on one of the songs and folded pieces of the album into his score.

Coogler said the record became a work of art in its own right rather than a tie-in, and critics called it a milestone for film soundtracks. Wakanda remains fictional, though this album has made a fairly convincing case otherwise.

Also at Kops: more Black Panther on vinyl · browse Soundtracks

Tracklist

Listen

On Top Dawg / Aftermath / Interscope (cat# B0027974-01), the 2018 soundtrack.