Def Jam Recordings and Marvel Comics have announced a new collaboration involving Black Panther. Three Def Jam’s artists – Saint Bodhi, Bobby Sessions, and Kaash Paige – will each write short stories to be published in Black Panther #23, #24, and #25, the final three issues of the “Intergalactic Empire” saga from Ta-Nehisi Coates and artist Daniel Acuna, ending their run on the ongoing series. To celebrate Black History Month, Black Panther #23 will see Saint Bodhi offer her take on Storm. March’s issue #24 includes rapper Bobby Sessions’ story about T’Challa. In the series finale, April’s issue #25, “Toxic R&B” artist Kaash Paige will tell a tale about Princess Shuri. The project is working with the Def Jam Forward initiative to “promote social, economic, and educational equality.” Each story accompanies a one-page Def Jam artist profile.
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“Bringing these two logos together was a dream,” said Def Jam partnerships consultant Jonathan Rheingold in a press release. “There was a mutual desire to unite these two great brands for a mission and a cause — leveraging Def Jam’s rising stars and the legendary Marvel characters to tell powerful stories that would make an emotional connection with fans of both cultures.”
“My album Mad World is a raw, honest, and very personal journey into my life and upbringing in South Central L.A.,” Saint Bodhi says. “I grew up with a not-so-normal past. I say the things people are afraid to say. I let you experience the ‘mad world’ that is my life.”
“Teenage Fever is my debut album and it was important for me to capture my last year of being a teen through my music,” says Kaash. “This chapter of my life is coming to an end so I wanted to put all my experiences into a document that will live forever.”
“My album Manifest is a guide for people to transform into the greatest version of themselves,” Sessions adds. “A body of work that will lead people to find their inner super hero!”
Bodhi is working with co-writer Danny Lore, artist Alitha Martinez, and colorist Rachelle Rosenberg for her story in Black Panther #23. The story is also ncluded in Marvel’s Voices: Legacy #1, releasing on the same day. Over the course of the next week, Marvel’s podcasts on SiriusXM, including This Week in Marvel, Women of Marvel, and Marvel’s Pull List, will feature interviews with these Def Jam artists
