We’re not the only ones inspired by Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s soundtrack. In a recent interview, Black Eyed Peas member Taboo echoed the sentiment when he talked not only about the importance of the film’s cultural representation but also its key music selections. His dream collaborators? Powerful matriarchs.
“I’m proud to be Native American and Mexican; the world knows that. The world has seen me rock with the Black Eyed Peas,” Taboo told NPR’s alt.Latino last week on the Latin Grammy’s Person of the Year red carpet. “But I was inspired by my brother Tenoch Huerta. Tenoch Huerta brought a beautiful appreciation for the Mayan culture and Mesoamerican representation on Black Panther.”
He continued: “Something as big as a Marvel IP, and [they] said, ‘Hey, not only are we going to give you representation on the big screen, also our soundtrack.”
When asked who he’d like to collaborate with, he mentioned two artists from the Wakanda Forever soundtrack: the Mexican singer Vivir Quintana and the Zapotecan poet and rapper Mare Advertencia Lirika, who worked together on the film’s hypnotizing song “Árboles Bajo El Mar.” The latter artist later revealed on TikTok that she was in contact with him. Furthermore, Taboo mentioned hopes of working with the Colombian-Canadian artist Lido Pimienta. Imagine that?
“These are matriarchs that are representing Indigenous foundation and bringing it to the mainstream,” he told NPR. “And in tribal communities, the matriarch system is always a powerful system. For me, that’s what I want to inspire – girls, women – to be powerful matriarchs, just like my daughter.” He says he wants his daughter to have this type of representation.
Before wrapping up the convo, he gives Lido Pimienta her flowers. “She’s proud. She’s honorable. She’s a great artist, and I can’t wait to hopefully one day work with her.”
