How the Music in Black Panther Tells a Story

Genius breakdown with Göransson : • Video
Song Exploder:
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Coogler scene breakdown:
• Black Panther's Direct...
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Edit:
Ok, so I know that "Redbone" (and really all of "Awaken, My Love!") isn't really hip-hop. What I was trying to say was that Göransson was well-acquainted with hip-hop through his frequent collaborations with people like Childish Gambino.
In hindsight, I should've used one of Gambino's other album covers, my bad.

[@josepholsen7450]

he didn't quite point this out... but when kilmonger reveals his identity, each layer of music is representative of the name that gets revealed. the 808s come in when shuri states his American name, and the African instrumentation comes in when he reveals his wakandan name. brilliant.

[@Mystic2760]

Oooooh, that sounds fucking amazing

[@dybiosol]

Shit, never noticed that.

[@abdulalshibly3930]

Yep totally genius but I think the 808s are light in Tchala Leitmotif because he´s "African" and has less american side but Killmongor has more American side that is why he has a hip hop beat and the flute that is african because he´s from Wakanda too

[@jimluebke3869]

Just shows what you can do when you have the musical elements to build with.

[@waywardwillard]

Listening to “Wakanda” after hearing the news about Chadwick Boseman is emotionally wrenching.

[@kai_824]

I want that 4 hour cut of the movie lol

[@paperbackwriter1111]

It's not really a 4 hour cut, it's just like... a first edit.

[@Bryan-th6rc]

When Africa was colonized, brass instruments were taught to Africans to encourage conformity in all facets, including Western music structure

[@revimfadli4666]

DrMonkeyBoyJr but most technological advances came from the minds of half-neanderthals...

[@kui_maina]

Very true...we had horns and flutes... Brass instruments came with the whites

[@sophiatalksmusic3588]

Neanderthals did come from Europe, though... like the word "Neanderthal" comes from the Neander Valley in Germany where some of the first bones were found, so I'm not really sure what you're getting at here.

[@smiledogjgp]

We've got all this talk about neanderthals without realizing that neanderthals were exceptionally similar to humans. So much so that modern humans, when coming into contact with neanderthals, recognized them as human enough to interbreed with. There is more than enough evidence to suggest neanderthals were practically on equal grounds both socially and intellectually with humans.

[@smiledogjgp]

@@sophiatalksmusic3588 Neanderthals originated in africa just like humans, they even have a common ancestor to us humans, Homo antecessor, about 800,000 years back that also originated in africa. They left africa and populated europe roughly about 350,000 years earlier than humans.

[@JWIZ92698]

R.I.P King T'chala Chadwick Bozeman You are the true king of Wakanda.

[@lachamachina]

yo is anyone here in 2020 after.... all I can say is there will only ever be one Black Panther.. Rest in Paradise king 💔

[@forgemakesstuff2734]

it's absolutely heart-wrenching rest in power

[@lizzy-np2dr]

This just decided to pop back into my recommended on the day I needed it, trying to reconcile with yet another thing 2020 has taken from us. RIP Chadwick Boseman.

[@zennim125]

the throne scene have even another story telling side (i also can wear the tin foil hat !) at the beginning when n'dajaka talks about the world, about colonization, about imperialism, while being scored by the european bach, it is possibly representing the scar of his living in the military had on him, he became more like the colonizers then shuri confronts him with his american identity and we hear the 808, the hip hop element of his theme, he truly is american, shuri is not telling any lies, but . . . then starts he is asked about his identity, and he reveals his real name while the flute overwhelm the other elements of the score, because he truly believes he is from wakanda first, that is his true origin and he get to be claim that african origin with pride black panther was breath taking, i still have issues with when t'challa reapers with the suit over the destroyed airship he didn't stroke a pose, but that was also my favorite musical moment, the voiced king theme transition was awesome

[@tametheaudiofrontier]

R.I.P Chadwick, you will be missed

[@GiantBrother]

Can we talk about the music of Thor Ragnarok? I like how they use 80’s synthwave as the music of Sakaar.

[@jhettgreene8994]

I'm with you there! I also kinda want a breakdown of Michael Giacchino's "Spider-Man: Homecoming" score (my favorite MCU score of 2017... sorry Mark Mothersbaugh lol).

[@GeorgianaStorey]

yes to both of these! the music of Thor Ragnarok played such a key part in the reboot of the Thor franchise. I think he touched on the Homecoming theme briefly in another video, how it goes with the cultural place of spider-man rather than expressing the values from the other films (?), but I'd love to see a fuller breakdown

[@goonyougoodthing]

More like Bore Ragnarok

[@cephasoj108]

ayy

[@jonvthvnx5729]

DrMonkeyBoyJr But it didn’t. Mark Mothersbaugh (yes the guy from Devo) composed a great score for Ragnarok.

[@outcast_stars]

I feel like you could also view the bach inclusion in Killmongers theme as a metaphor for European intrusion in African culture

[@OlleLindestad]

I've been thinking about the "father theme" as the "ancestor theme". The name of the track is Ancestral Plane, and every time it appears in the soundtrack it's as if it conjures up the relationship between past and present in Wakanda. This is to a large extent what the father character represents in the movie, so it comes to much the same thing.

[@JohnHandemPiette]

10:39 When he crawls through the fire and stands, does the Pimp lean then clenches his fists... I knew in spite of my lifelong adoration of Spiderman, Superman and finally Batman... a new Hero was challenging the throne of my adoration. This one shot hits so many marks it almost tells the whole story of the film cinematically, performative, and musically. A resurrection, King through trial by fire, and the pimp lean... a distinctly black cultural body movement foreign to a hero of this magnitude in costume. Brilliant analysis Sideways!!

[@nekodoken6323]

you know the leitmotif stuck when in infinity war, they're trying to find a place to investigate the removal of the mind stone from Vision, and the camera zooms in on Cap, and t'challa's talking drum plays before he even speaks. Cap goes: I know a place. HORNS! the theater goes wild.

[@PogieJoe]

The first Marvel movie with a noteworthy and memorable score! So good.

[@aidabaida6076]

I would disagree with you on that one. Just about every Marvel movie has something noteworthy in the music... be it the tortured screams of the Winter Soldier theme, the militaristic slapping of the Avengers march, or the myriad brilliant ways Danny Elfman took apart and manipulated Silvestri's themes in his Age of Ultron score. I'm not really sure where the whole "Marvel has bad music" thing came from. Maybe that "Every Frame a Painting" video?

[@sebastiansandoval4861]

Aida, your rigth but he meant both noteworthy and memorable within the whole score, and while i think many of your examples are subjectively memorable, most people forget them and remember only the themes (as seen in the theme video)

[@PogieJoe]

That is what I meant, Sebastian. :)

[@aidabaida6076]

hmmm, I'd say there are many Marvel scores that remain praiseworthy throughout the entire score. For example, the brilliant, layered score to the incredible hulk. I'd love to see sideways break that one down

[@poppyraima5342]

I recently watched all the MCU films, and I have to say that _Black Panther_ was the only one where I could identify and remember most of the main themes on my first viewing. (Granted, maybe there's just a _bit_ of bias in being so hyped for that movie.) Most of the other films have their distinct elements, motifs or general styles (rock music for Iron Man films) that I remember liking in the moment, but aside from the main Avengers theme, the first Captain America film, _Spider-Man: Homecoming,_ and the _Thor_ movies (surprisingly), I couldn't hum a single bit back to you from any of those other films' scores. (Seriously though, the only music I distinctly remember from any of the _Iron Man_ movies are the Christmas songs from the third one.)

[@nyasha3081]

i honestly think this is the reason why i love this movie so much. when you're a musician and/or lover of music, sometimes things like this movie just subconsciously connect to you and you don't know why. this video just brings that to light even more. not to mention the amazing cultural aspect of it. people will say it is overrated and was hyped up too much but in the end it was just cool to see our (african and african-american) culture be represented as correctly and proudly as it was. and the fact that the score almost showed a more traditional side of music while the black panther album showed a more urban side just shows how planned and thoughtful each person who played a role in making a film was.

[@cathalahern9310]

R.I.P Chadwick Boseman.

[@LavaTalon73]

About the "closure" motif at the end - couldn't it also signify a transition of power? It plays the first time when T'Challa becomes king (therefore the mantle is passed from T'Chaka to T'Challa), then again when Killmonger/N'Jadaka takes the throne from T'Challa, and the last time when Killmonger dies, and the mantle returns to T'Challa.

[@HyperblazeM]

RIP, King T'Challa 💔

[@mimisaiko]

I love how you include the reference video to further explain more clearly, as always great video, thank you!

[@guinevere1165]

You really are teaching me to care about the music in stories in more ways than just "this sounds nice."

[@arizz620]

RIP the king

[@iamjackspyramidshapedhelmet]

The string theme that plays when T’challa talks to his father evokes something Shakespearean , I can’t describe it but it feels epic.

[@coycook7268]

I just want to say that when I first watched Black Panter the music straight up made me cry. Like you said, the amount of effort put into this is astounding. At this moment it has the most beautiful instrumentals I have ever heard, my favorite being Ancestral Plain.

[@aoifet]

hey, just want to say that I;m doing an exam in my HSC music class and my topic is superhero theme music and I just want to say that this video literally couldn't have come at a better time and it helped me a lot, so i thank you you're the greatest

[@icythepixelfox7789]

RIP Chadwick Boseman.

[@nilek198]

RIP Chadwick :(

[@SanderGoldman]

this movie and score is so good it somehow makes me cry even in 5 second clips with a neckbeard talking over it

[@princessjellyfish98]

I'm rewatching this video for the millionth time cuz I love it and I just realized: did Goransson use the Fula flute, a west african instrument, for Killmonger because his ancestors on his mother's side were likely west african? I saw some people get confused about Killmonger's last line before his death about "his ancestors that jumped from the ships" but he wasn't talking about his ancestors on his dad's side, but on his mom's side. cuz damn that would be a beautiful detail.

[@Light-Rock97]

The soundtracks are amazing. Both of them. The level of quality was so high up there it was almost jarring on my first watch at the movies. From the very first scene I was like "What is that? Is it music? Good music? Whaaaat?!". Now I just leave it on loop all day while working. Back to back to back.

[@hazeltinegleason1492]

rip chadwick boseman

[@Kayleekakes]

Killmongers theme always gives me chills

[@diarya5573]

This video let me recognise so many little points in wakanda forever, how purposefully the black panther drum was used, Killmongers theme. I appreciated the movie so much more because I knew this stuff.

[@pitayapandi]

An interesting tibit that I just noticed. T'Chaka and Killmonger are literal polar opposites in their worldviews, Killmonger opting for violence and outwards support, and T'Chaka in his isolationism and diplomatic approach. In the same way, their instruments do the same thing. At 6:51, you can hear T'Chaka's theme with violins in the background, and in Killmongers, when he takes the throne room, you can hear the bass in the background. Violins and basses are about as far apart as you can get in the orchestra, soundwise

[@aceofclubs002]

That opening rant was honestly all I needed.

[@jonas105c1]

7:00 I all ways thought of that theme as black panther being haunted by his and his fathers mistakes and how it affects the rest of the world but only in that scene

[@reatilemotjolela914]

ahh man this breakdown be making me teary with even more feels of the black panther movie

[@dani.phantom10]

SIDEWAYS FOREVER! 😂

[@chaosandwildflowers782]

The sheer shade thrown at the beginning of this video

[@stephanierodriguez5498]

I said after the movie that I loved the music and how it was used in the movie, but you just explained it perfectly.

[@zacharyd819]

imma be really disappointed if we find out you don't really have a neckbeard at your 200k sub face reveal vid

[@saiyinrage108]

I think the "T'Chaka" theme flows better with everything when you consider it to be the Ancestral Plane Theme instead. There's always an underlying sense of spiritually during the whole movie; T'Challa Wins - Ancestors are watching over him, Ancestral Plane Theme plays in the middle of a Killmonger Scene - Entailing his connection to the Ancestors, Killmonger talking to his father in the Ancestral Plane - Theme plays, same goes for when he dies, cuz he's also joining the Green Veldt

[@billycollins6005]

Ludwig Goransson is lowkey one of the greatest musicians working today. I hope he someday is viewed on the same level as Hans Zimmer or Quincey Jones

[@StarUnreachable]

Since you brought up the talking drum and the fula flute, I think it's interesting that both of those instruments reveal the characters' names. T'Challa you mentioned, but the fula flute player was told Killmonger's name and motivations, and according to Göransson, he just started screaming "Killmonger!" into the flute while playing it, which you can hear.

[@38foisjp]

I was looking forward to this analysis, and you (Sideways) had the humility to direct us to the genius video while giving your personal insight on details : that shows "intellectual earnestness" so to speak. Well done !

[@devon6236]

Even if you aren't listening to the leitmotifs within this movie (like this guy) you can still feel how powerful this film is, and you can't deny that the music enhances that feeling.

[@r2ube]

Bruh I was getting water at like midnight while watching this video, and the bottle opening sounded exactly like the Talking Drum used for T'challa. Im kinda scared rn

[@badpojken]

In terms of directors and composers working together, I don't think it's a coincidence that Christopher Nolan often has Hans Zimmer composing his films, they work really really well together IMO

[@monikaanna7444]

i only saw this film once in the cinema, and i didn't take to it much. im not a huge superhero movie person, but now i can see how i was just not paying attention. not only is the score fantastic, but even just the positive impact this film has on society, and the very overdue poc representation. i was so blind to how important this film is and i have an insane amount of respect for it now. im so excited to watch it properly.

[@devinnelson2504]

Awesome breakdown. I love that you add your insight into good scores when actual effort and creativity were put into them. Thank you

[@doodle7342]

Honestly black panther was one of the most creative film tracks besides Thor 3 and gotg

[@alexjohnson3179]

RIP CHADWICK

[@witchfynder_finder]

Fuck, I REALLY want to see that 4-hour cut. I hope it surfaces one day...

[@mcvenne8935]

Everytime I watch one of his videos, I suddenly get an urge to watch great movies... 😅

[@khrashingphantom9632]

This was amazing! I'm loving this channel so far. I'm not sure how I'd never seen this channel before, but I'm so glad I got here. This was great but also a little sad now. Thanks for posting about this masterpiece. The soundtrack was pure gold. Thanks again. R.I.P Chadwick Boseman.

[@penelopewright8277]

I always get so excited when you upload a new video!! Great breakdown of the score- I was wondering about the European influence, especially in that brass!

[@winterthrill3900]

Yessss! I was hoping you'd do a video on this soundtrack :)

[@RaynP]

Take a shot every time he says 'It's almost like' during the beginning of the video

[@carolinevincent4868]

Desperately need this channel to make a comeback to break down Wakanda Forever

[@unluckyrat3961]

Yo I would love if you could find more movies or stuff with the use of foreign instruments, I think other cultures have some really interesting sounding and amazing instruments and I'd love to see you explain the use of them

[@anastasiaboyko7040]

this was great, thank you so much!

[@chaimeansteabro_]

I desperately need another breakdown for the new film. The actual movie might be a mess, but the score is amazing. Apparently, they brought in anthropologists, etc. to recreate Mesoamerican instruments and tools just for the score. A lot of that can be heard in relation to Namor and it's amazing. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

[@BenHawkinsvids]

My only disappointment was that they didn't use more of Kendrick's soundtrack.

[@raven3067]

When T'challa went back to confront Killmonger and take back his throne. I became in love with that scene. The music just roared and slapped me in the face. T'challa rose up from the aircraft and said "T'Chaka! I have not yield!"

[@ambergreymorning8479]

only 30 seconds in, and this video is already pure gold!

[@Amber-mt8nw]

Yessssss! I get so excited to see your videos! ❤️❤️

[@daisyp7286]

I’m literally taking a music in world cultures class right now and my teacher used this movie and it’s score as a great example of respecting and not appropriating a culture’s music. I love the effort the team put into making the movie what it is. We also talked about how when Shuri’s lab is first shown, Gqom music is playing. This music is currently the background of the youth movement in Africa. So Shuri listening to this music in her lab is explicitly showing how she is the up and coming youth of her generation, connected to the culture of the youth, more down to Earth and less wrapped up the the royalty aspect of her life. They put so much effort into the tiny details of this movie it truly is a masterpiece.

[@tehlazyprop]

Interesting interpretation of Killmonger's theme in the throne room scene: It starts with the European Bach-inspired stuff and the 808s, when the tribal leaders think he's just an American from Compton, and introduces the African influence and the fula flute at the EXACT moment he reveals to the room that he is Wakandan royalty. That's a really interesting symbolic link between the changing way others perceive Killmonger and his theme itself.

[@MANJYOMETHUNDER111]

You should REALLY, REALLY do an episode on Kendrick's album for this film.

[@michellesanderson8388]

I am deeeeead. lmao. I live and breathe for this level of sarcasm. And yes, love the score.

[@Nayshjin]

The Wakanda theme in Infinity war made me feel awesome

[@emic5783]

Yo unrelated really to this video but I just re-watched National Treasures and, as I have been watching a lot of your videos lately, I did my best to pay attention to recurring themes and motifs in the score. I actually found a really cool theme that showed throughout the movie. It was a simple two or three notes that showed up not only in the main theme of the movie, but was also a light motif for when the main characters and the villains encountered each other. It stuck out to me cause it had that brass feel that you always talk about for superhero/action themes, but it also actually sounded a lot like the Infinity War main theme (though I may be looking to much into it). Despite the drastically different movies it made me think of how composers often take inspiration from other scores/pieces of work... though of course it could be just a coincidence. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is thanks for making these videos, and helping me really open my mind to how deep music really is involved with story-telling! It's really cool how much more you can hear when you know what to look for.

[@tiklishgirl]

The opening bit always gets me

[@jenaroseii6508]

I'VE BEEN PRAYING THAT YOU'D MAKE THIS VIDEO this lowkey made my night thank you :)

[@fcayhr]

"voice of a neckbeard from his youtube video" I SNORTED LMAOO i love you and your channel so much!!

[@Evyscreations]

This is a beautiful score in so many ways. And I really enjoy these vids. 👍👍👍

[@nabongobong9155]

Killmonger's leitmotiv is literally Killing it

[@camilovargas1722]

Göransson 's pronounciation is closer to an english soft G as in George. I am not trying to be nitpicky is just an observation :) Your channel is trully one of the best things on youtube. Keep up the amazing work and greetings from Sweden.

[@ammie341]

I hope @sideways makes a video like this for the second black Panther!

[@ryanlee2935]

Somehow I'm watching this for the first time now. Liked solely off the opening.

[@madzondemand]

Idk if I'm just hearing things but when Killmonger is crowned king the last note might have a strong 808 or saw bass element on it

[@Cheese13th]

Thank you for this video mate !

[@Aidscapade71]

Yo... This hurts me.

[@13linkinparkluver13]

In your bio you should put "man who comes to youtube to geek out about music theory constantly apologises for geeking out about music theory"

[@devon6236]

You loooove your leitmotifs, don't you. I'm sure literally every other person commented something about this, and you yourself even commented something about this in this video, but I'm still gonna comment it anyway. And it's great because this is the only Marvel movie where I actually remembered the music! How awesome is that!

[@megalunalexi5601]

I literally just realized that Killmonger's theme is very similar to Midna's Lament in Legend of Zelda, Twilight Princess and that's probably why I adore it as much as I do. (It's fucking awesome on its own but nostalgia does amazing things)

[@acadia5898]

My god! 808 has been in my whole life and i didn't know the name of it!. Always has been interested with it. Thanks!

[@itsKarenTerry]

Thank you so much for this! I wished the movie had MORE of the score from Goransson and less from the other music that was in there honestly. All of Goransson's tracks were breathtaking.

[@Nick-dz5xk]

The sunset on Wakanda is almost as beautiful as the twin Tatooine sunset.

[@RacingSnails64]

the intro didn't need to be that "whiny," but golly is seeing how similar Tchalla and Killmonger are by their themes interesting.

[@katietodd8648]

Totally random, but from the minute I heard it, I thought that one really brassy theme sounded a lot like the Hidden Citizens cover of “Take on Me.”

[@callmecharliemusic]

I don't know why, but I have a STRONG desire to see this channel, Now You See It and Cinema Wins do a collab together. Just imagine... Cinema Wins gushing over a movie (and very often it's score) and Sideways and Now You See It breaking down why :D (Plus they all have similar presentation styles and I feel like they'd find it interesting discussing this stuff with each other...)

[@siyaoguo]

the father motif also appeared with perfect cadence when they mentioned TChalla's father's death in the first scene before the elephant song

[@OohWeeShaShaCooCoo]

Great video! I haven't really seen/heard anyone talk about this in such depth. Here's my thoughts regarding the flute being used for Killmonger's leitmotif: The flute components of Killmonger's music appear to be inspired by various indigenous religions throughout the US and African continent. Flutes are often times associated with trickster deities and these deities are usually depicted playing a flue (e.g. Kokopelli of the Native American culture). Killmonger was most definitely a sly one in Black Panther and it makes sense when you pay attention to how/when Göransson chose to have the flute come in (the museum scene; Bach's piece playing first is showing that he is so intelligent that something unbeknownst to the people around is about to happen and he has them fooled with his demeanor...and then he carries out his task and the flute comes in as if to say "na na na boo boo I tricked you!!!") Göransson did SUCH a great job on this score. I remember seeing it and the score being my favorite part of the entire work. So glad I found your channel!

[@bloodprince9779]

the music was so well done for this film, it was so good it even made me, a south african expat, who was kind of sick of African stuff for a while, actually become homesick for it, since it was done in such a good way of melding the African music with the modern music

[@hLofA14]

Now an Oscar winning score!

[@TheJoeSaiah]

Such a great video! I just recently saw the film and really loved the score. I also was a bit confused by the choice to include very traditional western instruments at the end of the king ceremony. I thought it was more the composer not completely being able to distance traditional scoring, like brass. Maybe there's another version that had something else but higher ups didn't like? Anyways, great video, I'm currently working on a scoring project and it was great to hear your analysis.

[@lily-hazy8823]

CEO of "It's almost like"

[@AdamInouye]

Scoring a film is really a type of art that is so unappreciated.

[@jeninarvaezmelo656]

Lmaoo the sass in the intro was real