The music of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse contributed a great deal to the movie’s success, leaving its recently released sequel, Spider-man: Across the Spider-Verse with some gigantic shoes to fill.
Without referencing radioactive arachnids, tough webs, or how great power confers great responsibility, its hip-hop and pop tracks capture identity, courage, love, and adolescence–the swinging themes of Miles Morales’ life. This is the beauty of the album. The sounds stay fresh and innovative even outside the context of the movie
Jam-packed with musical juggernauts like Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, Post Malone, Juice WRLD, Vince Staples, etc. it is no wonder that the album, a cohesion of chill and brisk songs, swung to the top of the Billboard 200. 'Sunflower', a single released by American rappers and singers Post Malone and Swae Lee, is the track which to a large extent, made that happen. With spirited yet melancholic vocals, Post Malone smoothly finds unexpected melodies from soft drums and synthesized beats including a catchy hook where he describes his lover as a sunflower to address the reason for their tumultuous relationship. It received critical acclaim and peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs Chart, becoming Malone and Lee’s first song to do so.
'Familia', another song on the album, is a bilingual bop that will push you to get sweaty on the dance floor. Zimbabwean-born singer Bantu is alluring as he starts the song with lyrics highlighting loyalty, foreshadowed already from the title of the song, the Spanish word for 'Family'; “It's always trouble when they go too far/ Nobody mess with my familial”. Annuel raps in Spanish and Nicki Minaj primarily in English but with hints of Spanish, incorporating an uplifting tone to the song.
'What’s up Danger' by Blackway and Black Caviar and 'Elevate' by Dj Khalil featuring Denzel Curry, Cordae, SwaVay, and Trevor Rich, are rap songs that bring serious heat to the soundtrack. As 'What’s Up Danger' is reminiscent of a battle cry of a superhero, unafraid and ready for action, the energy on 'Elevate' is equally buzzing enough to get you motivated to achieve anything you want through swiftly delivered bars.
'Hide' by Juice Wrld and Seezyn is another gem on the album. Over a melancholic guitar progression, the late singer’s emotions are laid bare as he swoons about the immensely positive effect his lover has had on his life: “Think I met my soulmate, yeah, I know it When it gets dark outside, in you I confide/ You help me face my demons, I won't hide, hide”
The Into the Spider-Verse soundtrack is amazing for two reasons: the eclectic diversity of sounds and styles throughout as well as the originality of it all. Its careful curation not only set an extremely high bar for the music supervisors of Across the Spider-Verse to execute another quality soundtrack, but also serves as a reminder for creatives to make no excuses in putting their all at the start of a project so that they can capitalize off of the excellence of earlier projects to create buzz for later projects. This will enable you to build a solid and organic community of loyal fans who support your work because you-the artist-have proven to be consistent at delivering exceptional work.
Listen to “Spider-Man: Into The Spide-Verse” on: Spotify
Listen to “Spider-Man: Across The Spider Verse” on : Spotify