The man in Black Panther, Kendrick Lamar performs onstage during the 60th Annual Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 28, 2018 in New York City.
collaborator."
Black Panther was released Friday (Feb. 16) and instantly garnered praise for its ambitious attempt at capturing a black superhero film.
With a starry cast headlined by Chadwick Boseman Michael B. Jordan, Angela Bassett, and Forest Whittaker, the Marvel movie received an extra boost earlier this month when Kendrick Lamar and his TDE cohorts doled out a titillating soundtrack titled Black Panther: The Album.
During a red carpet appearance before the NBA Celebrity All-Star Game in Los Angeles, Jordan spoke to Billboard about Lamar's transcendent project and how it played an integral role in the superhero flick.
"I think it's amazing," Jordan told Billboard. "It's doing really well. The fact that TDE and Kendrick got behind it and really curated the album, I think we were extremely lucky for that. He's the voice of the people right now. His message and what he brings to the table and who Kendrick is, is the essence of what a Black Panther is. For him to be a part of the movie and soundtrack is really, really important to us.
Black Panther: The Album is projected to be the No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 with an estimated 150,000 album units. For Jordan, his favorite songs include, "Paramedic," "King's Dead" and The Weeknd-assisted track, "Pray for Me."
"He's a true artist and he's a collaborator," Jordan said. "He saw the movie and got inspired. A lot of the songs are inspired by the film. It's a big collaboration. So, that's how it kind of works. You get artists from all walks of life to come together and create this one thing, it's beautiful."
With millions of people seeing Black Panther in droves, the movie is expected to have a colossal opening weekend. According to Forbes, the movie is expected to make $75.8 million on Friday alone.