Kirby Krackle Releases 'Black Panther'-Themed Single

Popular nerd rock act Kirby Krackle has released a new single inspired by Black Panther.

"It's Good to Be the King," available on Bandcamp, is pretty clearly influenced by the recent, record-breaking feature film, although it includes lyrics more specific to the comics.

"A few of you might have seen my Facebook post last week regarding my hesitation in singing from T'Challa's perspective being aware of how much this movie means to the black community, and to be honest, I was on the fence about it for a long time. With the current climate both socially and artistically, I needed to feel really good about this one and make sure I wasn't just inserting myself into the conversation blindly," Stevens wrote on Patreon. "Where I ended up with this song is something I'm really proud of stylistically and the little bit of non-geeky commentary I wanted to include. The thing that is so powerful about this movie is the lighting-in-a-bottle timing and moment it's harnessed across the world. After seeing it, it is obviously made from a place of light and power that is rippling across all time and space. It's extremely good energy, and I'm so glad inspiration struck on this song for me. It's been a hard winter, and I was thankful for it to knock me on the head when it did. No joke, the entire time I worked the mental angle of what I would do had Kendrick Lamar asked me to be a part of his official soundtrack. You might call this my 'unofficial' 'official' offering."

This is not the first time Kirby Krackle has had an "unofficial-official" offering: shortly after the release of the Green Lantern-themed song "Ring Capacity" in 2010, fans tried to get the song added to the soundtrack of the then-upcoming Green Lantern feature film. Warner Bros. reportedly humored the requests to a point, but ultimately did not use the song.

...Which was probably better for Kirby Krackle, to be honest.

You can listen to "It's Good to Be the King (Black Panther Song)" below, and buy it at the link above or using the button in the Bandcamp player.

Kirby Krackle, founded in 2009, is fronted by songwriter/performer Kyle Stevens. The band frequently plays concerts at or around major comic conventions as well as stand-alone gigs, and has released five studio albums and a live record in addition to numerous digital singles and Patreon exclusives in the last decade or so.

Stevens named the act after an effect frequently used in comics to depict energy "crackling" off of objects, popularized by comic book legend Jack Kirby in the 1960s.

Black Panther is in theaters now.