Pray for Me (The Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar song)
Third single from the Black Panther soundtrack.
"Pray for Me" is a collaboration between the Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar, released on February 2, 2018, as the second single from the *Black Panther* soundtrack. The track, their second joint effort, was issued through Top Dawg Entertainment, Aftermath Entertainment, and Interscope Records. In the film, it plays during a sequence where T'Challa, Nakia, and Okoye visit a covert casino in Busan.
The Weeknd first teased his role on the soundtrack with a January 19, 2018 Instagram post featuring an illustration of Black Panther perched on a tree before the moon. He followed up on January 26 by sharing an official *Black Panther* trailer on his account. Lamar confirmed the collaboration on January 31 by posting the full soundtrack tracklist on Twitter, which included "Pray for Me." The next day, the Weeknd tweeted a video hinting at the single's release date.
The song is written in the key of E minor. Alex Robert Ross of Noisey praised it as "short, punchy, and self-lacerating." Commercially, it performed well globally but fell short of the Weeknd’s earlier singles, reaching the top ten in countries like Australia, Denmark, and Sweden, and peaking at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100.
In February 2020, the Weeknd and Lamar faced a copyright infringement lawsuit from the experimental rock band Yeasayer, who alleged that "Pray for Me" used a modified choral performance from their 2007 song "Sunrise." Both artists denied the claim, and Yeasayer dropped the lawsuit in July 2020.
Credits list Kendrick Lamar and the Weeknd as songwriters and lead vocalists, with Frank Dukes and Doc McKinney handling production and additional songwriting. Recording engineers included Beatriz Artola, Shin Kamiyama, and Mike Sonier, with mixing by Jaycen Joshua and mastering by Mike Bozzi and Chris Athens.
Quick Facts
- Artist
- the Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar
- Album
- Black Panther: The Album
- Released
- 2018-02-02
- Genre
- Pop rap
- Length
- 3:31 / 2:45 (short version)
- Label
- Top Dawg · Aftermath · Interscope
- Writer
- Abel Tesfaye · Kendrick Duckworth · Adam Feeney · Martin McKinney
- Producer
- Doc McKinney · Frank Dukes
- Chronology
- The Weeknd
- Prev Title
- Secrets
- Prev Year
- 2017
- Next Title
- Call Out My Name
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The Weeknd first hinted at his involvement with the Black Panther soundtrack album via an Instagram post on January 19, 2018, featuring an illustration of the Marvel superhero Black Panther perched on a tree in front of the moon. On January 26, 2018, he further hinted by uploading an official trailer for the film to his Instagram account. On January 31, 2018, Kendrick Lamar confirmed the Weeknd's involvement by posting the complete tracklist of the soundtrack on Twitter, which included "Pray for Me." The following day, the Weeknd uploaded a video teasing the release date for the song as the soundtrack's second single.
The song is composed in the key of E minor. Alex Robert Ross of Noisey praised it, calling it "short, punchy, and self-lacerating." Commercially, it reached the top ten in Australia, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Lebanon, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden, and peaked at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100.
In February 2020, the Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar were sued by the now-split American experimental rock band Yeasayer for alleged plagiarism, claiming vocal similarities with their 2007 song "Sunrise." The lawsuit alleged that a distinctive choral performance from "Sunrise" was extracted, slightly modified, and used in "Pray for Me." Both artists denied the accusation. The lawsuit was dropped by Yeasayer in July 2020.
Reader's Guide
"Pray for Me" represents a notable collaboration between two major contemporary artists—the Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar—for the soundtrack of a landmark superhero film, Black Panther. The song's release as the third and final single from the soundtrack underscores its role in promoting the film's music, which was curated by Lamar. Its commercial performance, including a top-ten peak on the US Billboard Hot 100 and chart success in multiple countries, demonstrates its broad appeal. The song also became the subject of a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Yeasayer in 2020, which was later dropped, highlighting ongoing debates about sampling and originality in popular music. The track's inclusion in a key scene of the film—set in a secret casino in Busan—ties it directly to the movie's narrative, enhancing its cultural footprint. Overall, "Pray for Me" stands as a significant entry in both artists' discographies and in the broader context of film soundtracks in the late 2010s.
Did You Know?
- The song was released on February 2, 2018, as the third and final single from the Black Panther soundtrack.
- It appears in the film during a scene where the titular hero, Nakia, and Okoye enter a secret casino in Busan.
- In February 2020, the Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar were sued by Yeasayer for alleged plagiarism, but the lawsuit was dropped in July 2020.
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