Rihanna is helping to bring back New Music Friday for the first time in over seven years!
The nine-time Grammy Award winner, 34, dropped her new single “Lift Me Up” at midnight on Friday, her first new solo material since her 2016 album Anti.
In the chorus, Rihanna sings, “Lift me up/Hold me down/Keep me close/Safe and sound.”
The song is on the soundtrack of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and is a homage to the late actor Chadwick Boseman. At the age of 43, the Black Panther hero died of colon cancer in August 2020.
“I wanted to compose something that depicted a loving hug from all the people I’ve lost in my life after chatting with Ryan and hearing his vision for the film and the song. I imagined what it would be like to sing to them today and explain how much I miss them. According to Tems, who co-wrote the song with Rihanna, Ludwig Göransson, and director Ryan Coogler, “Rihanna has been an inspiration to me, so hearing her convey this song is a great honor.”
Rihanna gave hints about the song earlier in the week, and on Thursday, she posted a black-and-white picture with the song’s release date.
She and boyfriend A$AP Rocky attended the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever premiere in Los Angeles on Wednesday, just days before the song’s release. It was the couple’s first red carpet appearance after the birth of their first child, a boy, in May.
Fans of the Fenty Beauty founder have been waiting for “Lift Me Up” for a long time, having not heard any new solo music from the artist since Anti, her eighth studio album. She did, however, appear on the PartyNextDoor song “Believe It” in 2020 and on the N.E.R.D. song “Lemon” in 2017.
In May, the “Work” singer told Vogue that Anti is still her “best album to this day” and that she is not aiming to compete with it while she works on new songs.
I’m approaching my next project in an entirely different way than I had planned. “This technique seems to fit me much better,” she stated. “It’s authentic, it’ll be fun for me, and it takes a lot of the pressure off.”
Though it is unclear what else Rihanna has planned, the singer is due to perform at the Super Bowl Halftime Show early next year.
Rihanna is a generational talent, a lady from humble roots who has consistently outperformed expectations. A person born on the little island of Barbados who rose to prominence as one of the world’s most notable painters. Self-made businessman and entertainer ” The Hollywood Reporter says that JAY-Z said in a statement that he had previously made a deal with the NFL to be in charge of the league’s musical entertainment.
Soon after the news came out, Rihanna was seen leaving a music studio in New York City.