“Working on such a powerful movie is a great opportunity. We’re always working on new goals at TDE, so teaming up with Disney, Marvel Studios and the Black Panther film makes perfect sense.”
- Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith, CEO of Top Dawg Entertainment.

That’s right. Kendrick Lamar and “Top Dawg," Billboard Magazine’s Executive of the Year, will be creating the soundtrack to Marvel Studios’ "Black Panther" film, marking the very “first time in Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) history that Marvel Studios will integrate multiple original recordings created specifically for the film."

This will also be the first time that Lamar, who was dubbed the greatest rapper alive by Rolling Stone, will write, produce, perform and curate for a major motion picture. When speaking publicly on this, Lamar said:

“Marvel Studios’ Black Panther is amazing, from its cast to its director. The magnitude of this film showcases a great marriage of art and culture. I’m truly honored to contribute my knowledge of producing sound and writing music alongside Ryan and Marvel’s vision.”

The seven-time Grammy Award-winning artist is insanely excited to be a part of this film, and I think I speak for all of us when I say: so are we.

The Black Panther is Marvel’s first African superhero, debuting in the 60s and after all these years, T’Challa is finally getting his own movie. T’Challa, king of Wakanda, made his MCU debut in "Captain America: Civil War" but didn’t get a lot of camera time in the film, leaving a lot of people with mixed feelings because they were so excited that the Black Panther was finally entering the MCU but they were also upset that he played such a minor role.

Well, worry no more, folks. Black Panther is getting his first movie and I’m sure many more will come from it, pending its success — which is probably inevitable at this point. I mean, "Black Panther" would have blown up regardless due to the fact that he's an amazing superhero with a great background and the film contains an awesome cast & crew featuring names like Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o, Forest Whitaker, Angela Bassett and more — I could go on all day, but I think you get the point.

But when you throw in the fact that one of the best, if not the best, rappers of all time is fittingly creating and performing the soundtrack, "Black Panther" contains a formula that makes the film destined for greatness. The film’s director, Ryan Coogler, personally hand-picked Kendrick for the project, saying:

“I am honored to be working with such an incredible artist whose work has been so inspirational, and whose artistic themes align with those we explore in the film. I can’t wait for the world to hear what Kendrick and TDE have in store.”

Coogler makes a great point in that statement: Kendrick’s artistic themes do perfectly align with the ones that will be displayed in the film. Any fan of Lamar’s can vouch for me when I say that Kendrick Lamar is one of the best advocates of the black community in today’s music (possibly ever in pop culture) and that’s exactly what the "Black Panther" is to comic book fans.

In practically every comic book that T’Challa has been in, Marvel strategically exploited the real world’s racist evils to show their readers exactly how stupid and pointless — not to mention degrading and insulting — racism really is.

Early on in T’Challa’s written history, the Black Panther, and black people in general, were spoken of in stereotypical 60s fashion, but it was soon revealed by Stan Lee that T’Challa was one of the most intelligent and fierce people in the world, showing everyone that skin color means absolutely nothing and that an individual’s character is what you should judge a person on, if you’re going to judge them at all — which you shouldn’t.

A Black Panther x TDE collaboration for Marvel’s "Black Panther" film truly is a perfect fit, and the album’s first single, “All The Stars,” by Kendrick Lamar ft. fellow TDE mate, SZA, has already been released.

This film creates a unique opportunity to start new wave not only in cinema but in society by bringing together so many different types and races of people, even those with racist views and giving them a new and improved understanding to people of color.

"Black Panther" can truly break barriers in today’s society, and I am so excited to see how the album and film turn out and even more so, how Ryan Coogler will fuse the two to create the final product. The soundtrack is set to release on 2/9/18 and "Black Panther" hits theaters on 2/16/18.

Let the countdown begin!