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Rihanna’s Music Career Is ‘Born Again’ (Again)

Rihanna. Photo: Frazer Harrison/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images

Warm up your vocal cords. It’s giving ballad. Rihanna has released her second song off of the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack, following the release of her credits song “Lift Me Up.” This one is a mid-credits song titled “Born Again,” and it is … also a ballad. The two songs are very much cut from the same cloth, though on “Lift Me Up,” Rihanna is accompanied by strings, and on “Born Again,” she is accompanied by piano. Your mileage may vary on the two songs, especially if you’re more of a “We Found Love”– or “Bitch Better Have My Money”–type Rihanna stan, as opposed to a “Stay” featuring Mikky Ekko–type Rihanna stan — though everybody can agree that it’s nice to hear her voice again. Both songs have the job of paying tribute to the late Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman (and the accompanying death of his character, T’Challa), giving them a mournful air. Still … we’re holding out hope that Rihanna delivers something a little more disrespectful that we can shake our collective ass to during her Super Bowl LVII halftime performance.

Rihanna’s Music Career Is ‘Born Again’ (Again)