Nigerian pop star, Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, features on the soundtrack for one of 2022’s most anticipated movies, ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ with a rendition of the Bob Marley classic ‘No Woman, No Cry’.
Marvel Studios on Saturday debuted the trailer for the blockbuster sequel, which is scheduled for a November 11 release.
The teaser begins with Tems’ version of ‘No Woman, No Cry’ before it seamlessly transitions to Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Alright’.
Tems is currently one of the hottest artistes out of Africa and just a few days ago, got songwriting credit on Beyonce’s soon-to-be-released album, ‘Renaissance’.
This follows a meteoric rise after she was featured on Afrobeats superstar Wizkid’s ‘Essence’, a multiple-award winning song off his ‘Made in Lagos’.
Tems has since gone on to achieve international success, winning the BET Award for Best International Act while also featuring on Drake’s, and Future’s albums.
Tems feature on the ‘Wakanda Forever’ soundtrack is sure to excite potentially millions on the mother continent, because it corrects an earlier oversight.
Considering that the ‘Black Panther’ franchise is based on a fictional African country, Wakanda, the soundtrack album for the first installment curated by Kendrick Lamar featured no Afrobeats artiste.
Rather, The Weeknd, 2Chainz, Travis Scott, Future, Swae Lee, School Boy Q and Jorja Smith among others were featured, as well as South African choreographer, Babes Wodumo.
Tems playing a prominent part in the soundtrack of the sequel will surely assuage the feelings of those who felt neglected.
In ‘No Woman, No Cry’, Tems performs a solemn cover of Marley’s song, with the phrase “good friends we have, and good friends we’ve lost” hitting home.
The moving trailer hints at how the heroes will handle the sad loss of T’Challa, formerly portrayed by Chadwick Boseman, who passed away at 43 in 2020, following a four-year battle with cancer.
With this major role on the soundtrack of what will probably be among the biggest box office hits of the century, it is safe to say that Tems is transitioning from an African superstar to a truly global phenomenon.
Watch the “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” trailer below
Demola Ojo
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